Soil: Our Only Renewable Resource

Soil – our only renewable natural resource! Opportunities for farming and landscape protection in the context of climate change

SOIL the basis of all
Provides minerals and plant food in a controlled, steady manner in response to temperature and moisture
It is the only natural resource that can actually be increased by Man’s productive activity.
Soil forms through the action of weather and micro-organisms on the bedrock. As it forms it acts as the life support for an ever expanding world of flora and fauna.
In turn it too grows, and managed well provides an ever growing blanket for fertility, water retention and purification

Soil biomass
The macro and meso fauna are large enough to be gathered and weighed: ranging from 2 to 5 t/ha (worms making up to 75% of this weight)
Micro fauna are almost impossible to weigh as they are so minute. Instead their value tends to be expressed more in terms of the number of different organisms in one cc of soil: for a rich soil it is calculated to be in the millions.
These are the elements of soil that turn vegetable and animal wastes into plant food, in turn transferring C arbon into growing crops

Hydrological cycle under woodland

Soil water retention
The thicker the vegetative cover
The deeper the soil
The higher the humus content of the soil
More water will be retained and usefully employed in producing plants and crops
Less surface runoff and flooding
Higher water filtration through soils

How do we maximise the contribution of farming to food production and water quality 1
Farm for soil quality
Work with the natural complexity of soil: adding artificial N P and K to increase yields upsets the natural chemistry in the soil, changes its Ph (acidity) and affects the myriad organisms within in largely unknown ways
Use methods which increase fertility when crops are able to take it up – eg muck spreading onto growing crops, using plant mulches to fix N deep into the soil for slow release

Farm for protection of the organisms that naturally occur within our environment and climate
Protect soil structure: reduce disturbance and soil loss.
Seeking to grow the soil, through restoring vegetative matter and enhancing soil activity

Cultivate native or long established plants and livestock that are adapted to our climate, seasons and flora/fauna
Eg native cattle and sheep; clovers, native herbs and grasses
Understand and encourage the roles of macro organisms in distributing fertility in the soil and reducing pest invasions

Farming for food and biodiversity 1. biodiversity aiding food production

Farming for food and biodiversity 2. Biodiversity aiding the wider farm economy

And finally – the SW
Blessed with a rich variety of soils
The perfect growing climate
A strong market for food on its doorstep
A population aware more than many of the role of the open countryside in quality of life and food
A long tradition of dairying, meat production, orchards, horticulture and all the skills that go with it

BUT……..
- Farming is pushed into solely a primary production role for the raw ingredients of food
The profit making part of the food chain is largely taken away from farmers
They no longer control the final price of their product
Increasingly they are at the mercy of the business decisions of others – from supermarkets to seed companies

SO………
Increase the skills base in training – from soil management to marketing
Shorten the supply chain
Raise confidence of farmers through engagement in their future
Develop further the already welcome reimbursement for public goods
Require supermarkets and processors to sign up to a total vision for farming and a healthy rural society and environment in the SW

Soil: Our Only Renewable Resource

by South West Observatory on Dec 09, 2009

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Soil: Our Only Renewable Resource — Presentation Transcript