Fertility (soil)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Soil fertility is the characteristic of soil that supports abundant plant life. In particular the term is used to describe agricultural and garden soil.*
Fertile soil typically arises from the use of soil conservation practises, and fertile soil has the following properties:
- It is rich in nutrients necessary for basic plant nutrition including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
- It contains sufficient minerals (trace elements) for plant nutrition including boron, chlorine, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, sulfur and zinc.
- It contains soil organic matter, that improves soil structure and soil moisture retention.
- Soil pH is in the range 5.5 to 6.2.
- Good soil structure, creating well drained soil.
- A range of microorganisms that support plant growth.
- It often contains large amounts of topsoil
[edit] Soil depletion
Soil depletion occurs when the components which contribute to fertility are removed and not replaced, and the conditions which support soil fertility are not maintained. This leads to poor crops, which may in turn affect the health of the animals that consume those crops. In agriculture, depletion is often due to inadequate soil management. One of the most widespread occurrences of soil depletion as of 2006 is in tropical zones where nutreint content of soils is low, and where slash-and-burn techniques deplete soil through rapid and almost total nutrient removal. Depletion may occur through a variety of other effects, including overtillage which damages soil structure, and overuse of inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and herbicides, which leaves residues and buildups that inhibit microorganisms.
[edit] See also
[edit] External link
- Building Fertile Soil is a dead link; use the Internet Archive link here instead
