Soil nutrition is a concept which relates to the availability of Plant nutrients in the soil.
It differs from a concept of soil quality in that soil nutrients are well understood chemical ions whereas soil quality includes a wide range of soil physical, biological and chemical factors, as well as human sociological factors. Hence it is not so difficult to define the nutrient status of a soil, but much more difficult to define its quality status.
Of relevance to the nutrient status is the Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) and the availability of particular plant nutrients.