Taking a Look at Soil Depletion

The use of too much fertilizers, and in particular, of fertilizers with high concentrations of nitrogen, has been linked to reduced biodiversity (Xiankai et al. 2010). It becomes necessary to consider the detrimental effects of high concentrations of fertilizer in the reduced spaces. Fertilizers are salts, and therefore high concentrations of fertilizers can deplete the plant from water.

Poor soil management can lead to biological, chemical, and physical degradation, which can in turn negatively alter the activity of

Election of 1828 is what started it all. Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams was running for President, and Andrew Jackson won by an overwhelming majority. Jackson established the Spoil System. The Spoil System awarded Jackson’s friends and supporters public offices. During the 1830’s, abolitionist began to rise, and people began to revolt, for example, William Garrison wrote the “Liberator”, and Nat Turner killed his master and 60 more people. Money was a huge issue because tariffs were raised, and Jackson destroyed the National Banks, which caused the Panic of 1837. The big issue during the 1850’s was the decision if slavery should expand into the new territory that America had gained from the Mexican War. The documents support the explanation

The excess use of fertilizers can result in soil erosion and can lead to land pollution.

(Phillips, 2008, p.385) Farmers are the reason as to why the region has been stable, has helped the economy, and are the “guardians of the land,” as noted by Phillips. (Phillips, 2008, p. 385) That being noted, farming has helped so many individuals, such as in jobs as well as food products such as wheat in our everyday lives. Technological innovations have helped in the development of the land of the Palouse. Chemicals have helped evolve the land with the growth of crop yields, such as “herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers, and hybrid wheat varieties.” (Phillips, 2008, pg. 387) This has caused long term environmental problems such as soil erosion. This has brought me to the interest of how the land that overcame the main problem. That is soil erosion stripped off the land due to farmers using chemicals to implement growth in their

“ Without soil, land plants as we know them could not grow, and without plants no animals could survive”(53). This quote shows the great importance of one of our most important resources soil. “Perhaps the most important organisms in the soil, are the smallest-the invisible hosts of bacteria and threadlike fungi”(54). And, this quote shows how important the small organisms are. These include bacteria, fungi, and insects, which play such are large roll in life and are commonly being overlooked. One way they are being overlooked is by having chemicals sprayed on them and no one wonders what will happen. Well, if you are spraying chemicals to kill insects, it is most definite that the insects, such as earthworms, are going to be killed as well. These organisms are what make our soil so fertile, and without them we won’t be able to grow as much food. That being said, if we continue to plague the organisms of the soil with chemicals eventually, we will have less soil. We will no longer be able to grow as much crop due to this and we will not sustain the same lifestyle that we had

Over Fertilization occurs when more nutrients are added to the soil than the growing plants can utilize unused nutrients are then carried away by irrigation or rain water. Several factors can result in over fertilization. For example, it is difficult to determine precise nutrient content in some organic fertilizers, like manure. As a result, actual nutrient levels may exceed estimated content, and over fertilization occurs. Also, gardeners may incorrectly diagnose poor plant growth as a nutrient deficiency and apply fertilizer as a corrective amendment. In fact, the true problem could be unhealthy roots, poor soil conditions or other improper care. To prevent overfertilization, have soil tested regularly to determine accurate nutrient levels and only apply fertilizer as

It is true that we are in a battle of feeding our people while trying to care for our soil and environment. While trying to produce enough food to feed the masses, we are still and will always be damaging the environment in some way. The use of chemicals and pesticides on crops is wonderful for yield, but is toxic and destructive to the soil. It is also a fact that not all farmers can afford to do better practices

Use of pesticides and fertilizers on farms has increased by 26-fold over the past 50 years, fueling increases in crop production globally. But there have been serious environmental consequences.

While watching the video-presentation of Tony Avants’ speech on soils, I came to realize the importance of not only the quality of soil that one begins with, but also the quality of products used to enhance it. He states that there is a common gardening myth that plants do not recognize the difference between chemical and organic fertilizers. While that may be true for plants, the microbes in the soil know the difference and have a preference. They prefer the fertilizers made by nature. It would be easy to add chemicals to increase the Carbon these microbes feed off, but it would be much more cost effective, and better for the environment to use a Carbon-rich compost to fertilize one’s soil.

Environmental Issues: Increased population has led to the clearing of land for farming and the farming of marginal soils in rural areas, as well as to uncontrolled development in the fringes of urban areas. All of these factors contribute to deforestation and consequently to soil erosion.

Soil is everywhere but it is easy to ignore . There are so many types of soils . Soil contains very many fungi and microbes . Soil is also used for recycling by breaking down the leftover of the plant when it dies. It also breaks down the remaining animals after it

Over-exploitation of the environment is caused by deforestation, over-cropping, poor farming practices, and overgrazing. When over-exploitation occurs, salination, erosion, and desertification results, causing less fertility and more hunger across the globe. Salination is caused by erosion that strips the earth of its nutrients, leaving behind salty, unfertile land. This causes plants to have less of a chance of growing properly, or not grow at all. When less plants grow, less people are fed, and more go hungry.

Meanwhile, agricultural reformers advised farmers to rotate their crops, conserve the soil, use fertilizers, adopt new crops, improve livestock breeds, and use the latest machinery. Although a few farmers practiced soil conservation by rotating crops or growing legumes, they just simply plowed up new lands when the fertility of their fields declined. Of the three main components of production—land, labor, and capital—land was the cheapest, so it made economic sense in the short run to exploit the soil to the fullest (Fite 28).

Desertification is a dynamic process where viable soil becomes degraded land typically resulting from human activities such as deforestation, inappropriate agriculture, or simply due to due climatic variations like drought. Desertification occurs globally in a variety of regions, yet not all regions are alike, thus different forces that may be responsible for desertification. For example, in a region like Africa there are huge atmospheric cycles that occur near the equator that pushes dry air towards Africa. Other forms of desertification can be driven in this area by the extensive agriculture that sustains Africa's growing population. It may also be the lack of advanced technology that has gave first world countries a competitive edge in assessing soils, increasing agricultural production, and lowering pollution levels. In another region such as China, the result of desertification in places around the country derive from toxic levels of pollution, human alteration of the land, and natural causes. Though China may have advanced technology, they still have problems figuring out ways to mitigate this problem due to their gigantic population size. Even the United States has been through a drastic event that caused a huge economic impact and left thousands of landowners unable to farm and make revenue for many years. Although many of these regions have different factors contributing to desertification, many similar trends can be seen that ultimately point to desertification.