Comprehensive regenerative management
Introduction
Soil regeneration is a particular form of ecological regeneration within the field of restoration ecology, creating new soils and rejuvenating soil health by minimizing the loss of its top layer, retaining more carbon than is depleted, increasing biodiversity and maintaining proper water and nutrient cycling. This has many benefits, such as: loss of soil carbon in response to a growing threat from climate change, reduced risk of soil erosion, and increased overall soil resilience.
Soil Basics
Soil quality
Soil is integral to a variety of ecosystem services. These services include food, animal feed and fiber production, climate moderation, waste disposal, water filtration, elemental cycling, and much more.[1] Soil is composed of organic matter (decomposing plants, animals, and microbes), biomass (living plants, animals, and microbes), water, air, minerals (sand, silt, and clay), and nutrients (nitrogen, carbon, phosphorus).
For optimal plant growth, an adequate carbon to nitrogen ratio of 20–30 should be maintained. This can be done by growing a variety of plants, always keeping the soil covered, maintaining a living root system, and minimizing soil disturbance. Macro and microorganisms assist in processes such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, disease suppression, and moderation of CO2 in the atmosphere. Plants have a particularly symbiotic relationship with microbes in the soil rhizosphere. The rhizosphere is an "area of concentrated microbial activity near the root" and where water and nutrients are readily available.
Plants exchange carbohydrates for nutrients excreted by microbes, different carbohydrates support different microbes. Dead plants and other organic matter also feed the variety of organisms in the soil. Organisms such as earthworms and termites are examples of macroorganisms in soil. A good indication that you have quality soil is the lack of pests and diseases. Low biodiversity increases the risk of pests and diseases.
Soil degradation
Having too much or too little of any of the soil components can cause soil degradation. For example, having a high clay content reduces aeration and water permeability. Another example is that although phosphorus and nitrogen are essential for plant growth, they are toxic in large quantities. Soil degradation means that soil quality has decreased, causing ecosystem functions to decline. One third of the world's land has degraded soil; especially the tropics and subtropics with around 500 million hectares. Soil degradation occurs due to physical, chemical and biological forces. These forces can be natural and anthropogenic. Tillage is a physical example that causes erosion, compaction, and decreased microbial activity. Erosion is "one of the most serious problems facing urban soil quality," and the problem is exacerbated by bare soil. Compaction occurs when soil packs together and becomes harder, so its ability to hold air and water is diminished. This increases erosion and flooding, decreases the ability of plants to develop good root systems, and reduces biological diversity. Overgrazing is another example where the root system beneath the soil is damaged, reducing water permeability. Acidification, salinization, nutrient leaching and toxin contamination are some types of chemical degradation. Toxins can accumulate in soil from industrial processes such as mining and waste management. Some biological examples include biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, reduced carbon content, and a reduced ability to sequester carbon. One of the most predictable ways to determine whether soil degradation has occurred is to measure its organic carbon content. The soil organic carbon pool is extremely important for soil fertility.