Our Indispensable Soil

Abstract

This chapter describes the significance of soil for humanity. Concepts such as sustainability and nutrient balance are discussed. Most plants live in symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi which spread their finely branched mycelium in the ground and facilitate the uptake of nutrients but the fungal hyphae also help to bind soil particles together into stable aggregates, providing a loose soil structure which is beneficial to the vegetation. Erosion, desertification and salinisation are global problems that arise when we use the land in the wrong way. My own experiences from research in Nepal and Tunisia serve here as current cases of such problems and how they can be resolved, along with historical examples of American farmers forced to abandon their farms and try their luck in California. Lastly, the chapter discusses organic farming from a sustainability perspective.

As the bee collects nectar

and departs without injuring the flower

or its colour or scent,

so let a sage dwell in the community.

Buddha