Caring for and conserving our soil is at the heart of conventional and organic farming.
With good conservation practices, optimum yields can be achieved both now and in the future, without having to rely on external chemical products.
By practising farming with the utmost care, the effects of good soil management may not be clearly visible in the short term, but they are visible in the long term and the results bear them out, with
increased fertility, reduced erosion, reduced environmental pollution and above all ecological sustainability.
. The soil is the primary condition and environment for the crops that provide food for humans, domestic animals and wildlife.
Since most plants cannot exist without soil, it is important to use this resource properly.
This approach allows us to have sufficient food in the future and material for technical needs, such as household textiles or fuel.
What does it mean to care for and conserve the soil?
Taking into account that the soil is everything, it is the set of agricultural techniques and farming practices that prevent soil destruction, degradation, erosion, nutrient depletion and chemical saturation.
Soil conservation techniques are geared towards long-term use, with the future in mind.
By taking the right measures and receiving the right technical advice at the right time, farmers will increase the productive yields of the seasons and the soils for the years to come.
They aim to increase and maintain the biodiversity of eco-communities that add organic matter, decompose perennial organisms to release nutrients and improve water infiltration and aeration.
Different types of soil conservation methods prevent runoff, pollution and sedimentation in water bodies and protect bare soil from cracking and erosion due to water, wind and excessive heat.
Three basic steps for proper soil conservation:
- Full knowledge of land resource use.
- Detection of critical zones through field monitoring and control.
- Monitoring of the effectiveness of applied soil conservation techniques and analysis of their efficiency.
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Benefits of soil conservation:
- Increased land productivity: maintaining good soil conservation increases fertility.
- Reduces harmful chemicals, reducing costs.
- Causes water infiltration and increases water storage.
- Promotes direct seeding versus older ploughing techniques, which reduce moisture, leading to evaporation and causing cracking.
- Reduces erosion.
Soil conservation is important to reduce erosion and depletion.
- Promotes air and water purification.
The importance of soil conservation is related to water supply, as the soil functions as a natural filter to purify water.
Soil conservation mitigates the concentration of pollutants and sediments.
In turn, water is a basic condition for dissolving nutrients for plants.
Carbon fixation in the soil and the reduction of chemical applications also contribute to air purity.
- Provides food and shelter for wildlife.
Land with growing vegetation is a vital environment for animals; not only as a source of food, but also as a habitat.
