Soil, just like any living entity in our environment, requires proper care to continuously contribute to the overall well-being of Mother Earth. On this World Soil Day, with the theme of “Caring for Soils,” we recognize soil requires tender loving care to perform vital functions effectively.
Soil functions refer to the key roles soil plays in an ecosystem. These functions include a variety of things:
Planet Earth would be uninhabitable in the absence of a diverse and multifunctional soil system. It places the onus on us to be good stewards of the soil in order to sustain its functions. The reason for soil stewardship is to keep the soil sustainably healthy. Soil stewardship can be achieved by adopting a simple approach – measure, monitor and manage – as recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organization.
Measure
In order to determine the health status, the soil needs to be measured for certain indicators or properties that help reveal whether it's healthy or not. This is a vital step to soil health. The results of these measurements, which are both visual or qualitative and/or quantitative through laboratory-based tests, informs what needs to be monitored to ensure the soil is restored back to optimal health. Data generation is the key to support decision-making.
Monitor
This step is both preventive and restorative in nature. It’s preventive because proper monitoring of the soil’s vital signs ensures the soil is not severely degraded. For example, a farmer that monitors the yield of their crops knows when there is a decline in the yield. It’s also restorative monitoring that ensures procedures put in place for the soil to replenish lost nutrients (like fallow or leguminous cover crops) are monitored to achieve the desired results.
Manage
This ensures the use and/or management practices the soil is subjected to supports its health, productivity and safety.
Olds College of Agriculture & Technology is committed to soil stewardship by caring (measuring, monitoring and managing) for the soil.