Present use and physical properties relationships in soils under Mediterranean semiarid conditions.

Physical soil properties have been widely proposed as an indicator of soil quality. The aim of this study was identify the relationships between physical soil properties and present uses. Attending to the high level of soil degradation and the stressful environmental characteristics, the Mazarron area (S.E. Spain) was selected for this study. Structural stability, bulk density, texture and available water were analysed for forty-one soil samples from the study area. Physical soil parameters were correlated with soil uses and a strong relationship between structural stability and soil uses was observed.