Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
How Much Margin Is Left For Degrading Agricultural Soils? The Coming Soil Crises, Maheteme Gebremedhin, Mark S. Coyne, Karamat R. Sistani
How Much Margin Is Left For Degrading Agricultural Soils? The Coming Soil Crises, Maheteme Gebremedhin, Mark S. Coyne, Karamat R. Sistani
Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications
Agricultural soils are in peril. Multiple lines of observational and empirical evidence suggest that we are losing the world’s fertile soils at an alarming rate, worsening the on-going global food crisis. It is increasingly clear that the risk of soil crises driven by erratic precipitation, warming air, and farming mismanagement is coming sooner rather than later. At this critical time, society cannot avoid looking for ways to curb soil crises. We argue that now is the right time for science-based mitigation strategies and new insights to protect soils. We offer four research priority areas that society needs to address. Arresting …
Soil Health – It's Not All Biology, Mark S. Coyne, E. M. Pena-Yewtukhiw, John H. Grove, A. C. Sant'anna, D. Mata-Padrino
Soil Health – It's Not All Biology, Mark S. Coyne, E. M. Pena-Yewtukhiw, John H. Grove, A. C. Sant'anna, D. Mata-Padrino
Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications
Soil Health research tends to bias to a biology/microbiology emphasis. We believe this bias neglects important physical and chemical interactions in soil that are crucial to soil function. We offer several examples illustrating this bias, and how it may misrepresent management practices that have the greatest influence on Soil Health. Four suggestions are given as approaches to mitigate this bias. By appreciating soil structure as a foundation for Soil Health and its microbial community, we believe better recommendations can be made to assist the farm community in its stewardship of soil as a critical natural resource.