The Consequences Of Soil Diversity

After learning about the statistics of how much agriculture consumes our planet, I was appalled to see how destructive it is. Jonathan Foley put into perspective the increase and rapid demand for food. Agriculture alone consumes 40% of our land surface, 70% of our irrigation system, and

1 The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has stepped in to provide restorative practices upon 500,000 acres of heavily degraded public grasslands. This land is suffering from severe soil erosion as well as degradation due to overgrazing. The suppression of natural fires has caused shrubs and invasive weeds to encroach upon the grasslands. A full scale assessment will take place on this land before restoration efforts begin. The first thing that would need to be assessed is the soil, for it is eroding and holding little nutrient value. Samples would be taken of this soil from various parts of the grasslands including the eroded gullies. Each soil sample would be taken from at least 1 foot below the surface, to test for carbon richness below the topsoil. These would then be tested for texture, density, water retention, and chemical composition. Typically, powerful, healthy soil will contain amounts of both Nitrogen and Phosphorous, which are essential nutrients in sustainable plant growth. These samples would also be tested for any build-up of salts, something known as soil salinization. Unhealthy, salinized soil is created over years of over-hydrating and deep plowing. Excess water will suffocate root systems of once-healthy crops, and salinized soils will reduce crop output up to 20% (Withgott &Brennan, 2011). The next assessment would be in the shrubs and invasive weed species on the land. Knowing the volume and location of these plants gives way to a better understanding of

It may seem like we will never run out of soil, but soil conservation is a critical issue in Texas today. So if the entire farming community implemented at least one type of soil conservation effort we would widely improve our agriculture benefits. These benefits would include saving energy, by using less diesel fuel for tractors. Implementation of these farming practices could save water and reduce several types of diseases and pests that farmers encounter when planting their crops. This is no time to be cutting corners on expenses because the United States spends about $37.6 billion each year on soil

Franklin D Roosevelt once said, “the history of every Nation is eventually written in the way in which it cares for its soil.” The United States began seeing sustainable management practices in farms, and healthier soil through this act. In 1982 through 2007, the United States soil erosion had declined by 43%” (Montanarella, 2015). Every year the United States loses about $400 billion dollars due to crop soil that is eroded. Soil is a limited resource and the largest resource for growing food, accommodating diverse ecosystems, and providing food resources. Therefore laws, acts, and provisions are necessary to protect this natural resource.

The predator populace in the earth populace is developing, while the predator populace in the grass is not advancing as quick. Everybody and each living thing are always advancing; in any case, since the knifes in the earth populace could outlast the forks, dissimilar to in the grass specialty, they are developing quicker. The spoons still ruled over all, surrendering the opposition over to the blades and forks. Table 2a obviously demonstrates that the knifes cooperated better, or were forceful in their approach of attempting to survive longer, and making more eras. Similar phenotypes were not supported in both the grass and soil populaces on the grounds that distinctive results came to be. On the off chance that the knifes just murdered off the forks in the grass segment, then the phenotypes would have been the same. The way that the knifes adjusted their nourishment on their mouths and afterward ate it was a key make, that drove them beat the forks. Since in the grass segment the forks likewise could defeat the do not have that their mouths stalled out within the individual clear out.

The microbes found in soil go hand in hand with the microbes found in our bodies, especially the gut microbiome. Soil is used to grow various plants and crops which we then ingest. As stated in Healthy Soil Microbes, Healthy People, we have completely destroyed soil microbes by overusing fertilizers and pesticides just like how we have destroyed our gut microbes by ingesting processed foods and large amounts of antibiotics. Soil microbes, including bacteria and fungi, form symbiotic relationships with plant roots to help provide the plant with many nutrients needed to survive. In order to restore and improve the soil once again, we need to reintroduce bacteria and fungi that are capable of repairing the damage. Through recent technological advances, the soil microbiome was genetically sequenced. This allows farmers and other scientists to understand which microorganisms are

Today, in the United States, farmers and ranchers produce a wide variety of commodities for food, fuel, and fiber in response to markets. These farmers understand and recognize the significance of managing their soil as well as their plant productivity. America’s farmers are true professionals because crop production is a very complex business.

Kristin Ohlson tells us in The Soil Will Save Us that we can not only heal deserted lands to grow better foods by returning carbon to the soil, but also reverse climate change. She shares with us that there is a teeming world of microorganisms in the ground

With soil being washed away nearly 10 – 40 times faster than it is being replenished1, every single idea to avert this this crisis needs to be considered. No till farming, a method by which farmers implement a way of growing crops with minimal disturbance to the soil and the soil’s abiotic and biotic components, is a very important idea that is being employed worldwide with notable results. With food prices rising and people turning to their own backyards to grow food, the potential advantages of small scale no till can play a major role in the health and regeneration of our

Soil is the most important element for agricultural ecosystems. Healthy soil comes with beneficial microbes and insects. Unfortunately, these are often killed off by the abuse of pesticides. Healthy soil can produce strong crops that are less vulnerable to pests. Damaged soils often need strong fertilizers application to produce a high amount of crops. Soil quality can be amplified in many ways, including leaving crop remainders in the field after harvest and adding composted plant material (Union of Concerned Scientists) Compared to industrial agriculture, companies continue to damage and consume natural soil. While intensive plowing and monocrop (does not rotate) agriculture systems have caused nutrient exhaustion and soil erosion. Excessive application of fertilizers and pesticides has contaminated soils and polluted waterways (Grace Communications Foundations)

“On the global basis, the soil degradation is caused by over grazing (35%), agriculture activities (28%), deforestation (30%), over exploitation of land to produce fuel wood (4%), and industrialization (4%).” 100% of what causes soil degradation is caused by humans and animals. 35% of the blame goes to the animals for over grazing, but the other 65% of the blame goes to the humans for agriculture activities and chopping down trees. Another example is, David Pimentel also states, “The bottom line on soil production is that it takes (on average) about 100 years to generate a millimeter of soil. This is about a human lifetime.” Although it is stated that animals contribute to land degradation, it’s only a small portion (35%). The main reason for loss of arable land is human development. Forests are cut down for farming space, fuel wood, or space to build some kind of industry. When land is being used and used, and no one manages it, it can become deplete; which means, the land is dried out and unable to grow vegetation. Soil production takes a long time, on average, it takes 100 years. 100 years is too long to wait for new soil to plant food.

According to the European Union’s Joint Research Center, soil contains nearly one third of all living organisms, but only about one percent have been identified. Another study in 2003 featured in the journal Ecosystems estimated that 5% of the United State’s soil biodiversity was “in danger of substantial loss, or complete extinction, due to agriculture and urbanization.” (Robbins) The damage comes from multiple sources. Paving or building over soil effectively blocks out the air, water, and light needed to have a functioning soil biome meaning that roads, cities, sidewalks, houses, and businesses have destroyed the soil beneath it. Agricultural practices remove organic material, decreasing food, and then allows fallowed land to become dry and exposed to the elements. Household, industrial, and agricultural toxins can also sterilize soil if not disposed of

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.

The microbial organisms living in Peatlands, they love carbon; and they play a major role in “global carbon cycling”; therefore, peatlands are called “carbon reservoir.” Peatland microbes work well in the cool temperature, but the global temperature is increasing because of human activities such as farming, burning of fuel and disposing of industrial gas. The authors focused their study on the influences of human activities causing natural changes on the living and activities of “peatland microorganisms” especially fungi. Different types of fungi were observed on different peatland soils; moreover, statistical, analytical and graphical skills were successfully applied in this study. Finally, the article’s authors concluded that the microbial

Food production, human health and welfare, and the state of the world's natural resources are all connected. Growing food is among the most essential services our ecosystem provides, since it is fundamentally dependent on the world's atmosphere, soils, freshwater and genetic resources. The health and sustainability of the food systems is a human health issue. For example airborne pesticides can drift onto water resources or pesticides can run off directly from croplands into groundwater and surface waters, potentially affecting wild flora, fauna, and humans. Besides water, soil is another critical basis for long-term fertility in food production. Existing agricultural practices mine soils of their organic matter and leave them nitrogen depleted. Because industrialized agriculture generally lacks practices to sustainably cycle these resources within the production system, they often become wastes that further undercut human