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Travel News - Latest News - News Update - Maintaining the soil

News Update | Bush telegraph | Events Calendar | Conservation News | Venture Diaries

Soil is probably not thought about that often, if ever, although is plays a huge role in the support system of human life and welfare.

As part of the World Day to Combat Desertification, there was a recent talk on Soil Conservation and Food Production. According to Marina Coetzee, soil scientist at the Polytechnic of Namibia, economies and societies are all built on soil. It ranges from agricultural production and civil engineering to sanitation and waste disposal.

Soil acts as transformers, regulators, buffers and filters and it forms a link between bio-geochemical cycles. Coetzee said that people take soil for granted, treating it like a limitless resource. Furthermore, she says that people have no regard for the quality of the soil.

Well-managed soil can lead to a good crop produce and thriving gardens. Roads and buildings can also perform according to specifications.

The common cause of poor soil is people, through erosion, contamination and nutrient mining. More causes of soil disruption are structural breakdown and surface sealing. Coetzee pointed out that degradation is a disease of land and desertification is its death.

To maintain the health of the soil, conservation agriculture is the way to do it. The soil isn’t disturbed as much and organic matter like manure and compost is added to the topsoil.