The concept of soil health is discussed and presented as an integrative property that reflects the capacity of soils, and specifically
of soils used for cotton production, to respond to agricultural intervention, so that it continues to support both agricultural
production and the provision of ecosystem services. Soil health is conceived as being dependent on the maintenance of four major
functions; namely: (i) carbon transformations, (ii) nutrient cycles, (iii) maintenance of soil structure, and (iv) the regulation of pests
and diseases. Measurement of individual soil properties, soil processes, functions or soil biota may not suffice to indicate the
overall state of soil health. Therefore, robust, yet simple, approaches to interpreting and measuring soil health are needed. This
work reviews and compiles a suite of pragmatic soil health indicators that may be applicable to Australian intensive production
systems. This suite of indicators may be used to measure, monitor, and report soil health in a consistent manner using a
combination of standard analytical techniques, quantitative hand-held proximal sensing and qualitative visual assessments, and
potential application of emerging technologies. 
Keywords: Earth observational datasets, Onboard technology, Proximal sensing, Remote sensing, Sensor fusion, Soil processes
and function, Spatial modelling, Soil quality.