Farming and Soil Health

Abstract

Natural ecosystems are characterized by heterogeneity, a balance of energy and nutrients, self-regulation and regeneration of soil form and function. By contrast, conventional farming systems exhibit homogeneity, an imbalance of inputs and outputs, a weak capacity for self-regulation and a lesser degree of adaptation to the constraints of the environment. The building blocks of sustainability for soils and farming systems include the following:

–  Matching land use with land capability at the landscape scale and at the field scale

–  Crop rotation to combat pests and diseases and to achieve full return to the soil of nutrients and energy – which means optimum application of compost and farmyard manure, and a key role for perennial legumes

–  Minimum tillage

With good design and management, rotational systems are more resilient, more productive and more profitable than monocultures. The resilience of ecological systems depends on checks and balances and capitalizes on the natural variability within the landscape. This is not easy to establish in farming systems; it needs to be underpinned by a new holistic science and social organization that embraces various disciplines and practitioners that can learn from one another.