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Soil health is the capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains its functions. Soil is a complex environment with many components, including organic matter, communities of micro-organisms (microbes), air and water pores, and minerals. Sadly, human activities can damage soil health impacting entire ecosystems.
Soil functions are general soil capabilities that are important for many areas of life including agriculture, environmental management, nature protection, landscape architecture and urban applications. Six key soil functions are: Food and other biomass production. Environmental Interaction: storage, filtering, and transformation.
The management of soils and plants to support the production of food, feed, and fiber is called agronomy. Managing the health of the soil is crucial to maintaining our food supply. Healthy soils help crops use water and fertilizer better. Unhealthy soils tend not to be efficient producers of food. This is harmful to not only the economy but ...
- Soil Erosion
- Impacts of Erosion
- Water Erosion
- Wind Erosion
- Tillage
Erosion is the wearing down of the surface of the earth due to the action of wind, water and gravity. It is a natural process and shapes the landscape around us. Use of land by man for agriculture, forestry, and transportation has accelerated these processes. Accelerated erosion has occurred in all the agricultural regions of Canada. Erosion and ru...
Loss of soil from agricultural land may cause environmental impacts as well as reducing soil productivity. Dust from wind erosion reduces air quality and in extreme cases may reduce visibility resulting in hazardous driving conditions and potential impacts to human health. On May 14 and 15, 1984 visibilities were reduced to less than one kilometer ...
Water erosion is a threat to soil productivity on most annual crop land in Canada. It is caused by rain pounding on an inadequately protected soil surface and by the action of runoff when water flows have enough energy to cut into the soil. A general rule of thumb is that if you can observe erosion then you probably have a problem. That is because ...
Wind erosion most frequently affects soils on the Prairies but wind may also cause problems on sandy soils in Ontario and during the winter on exposed fields in Prince Edward Island. Peat soils may also be affected. Wind erosion occurs when strong winds blow over a smooth, exposed, loose, and dry soil surface. Depending on conditions, the wind spee...
Direct seeding and no-till
Direct seeding, no till and similar low soil disturbance seeding practices provide numerous benefits and yet pose unique management challenges. Discover how farmers have adopted and benefited from these practices and how they are adjusting these practices to adapt to ever changing management challenges. 1. Issues, management problems and solutions for maintaining a zero tillage system and other beneficial soil management practices 2. Flexibility of no till and reduced till systems ensures suc...
Jan 6, 2023 · It is very important to never till soil when it is wet. Driving on and working soil when it is wet will cause compaction, damage soil aggregates, and decrease aeration in the soil. Managing soils for optimum crop growth and yield is one of the most important foundations for your farm's profitability and sustainability.
The Four Principles of a Soil Health Management System. Implementing Soil Health Management Systems can lead to increased organic matter, more diverse soil organisms, reduced soil compaction and improved nutrient storage and cycling. As an added bonus, fully functioning, healthy soils absorb and retain more water, making them less susceptible ...
People also ask
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Why is soil health important?
What are soil functions?
Why do farmers need a soil health management system?
Soil management is the application of operations, practices, and treatments to protect soil and enhance its performance (such as soil fertility or soil mechanics). It includes soil conservation, soil amendment, and optimal soil health. In agriculture, some amount of soil management is needed both in nonorganic and organic types to prevent ...
