It is known that the volume and quality of the harvest, with sufficient agricultural technology, is influenced by such factors as soil fertility. Not all types of soil are equally fertile. Let's consider what soil fertility is, what it depends on, and what the thickness of the fertile layer is. What ways can you increase fertility, methods for its research and assessment, how to restore and improve the soil.
What is soil fertility
This is a soil that, in many respects, is favorable for agricultural plants, capable of not only supporting their growth and development, but also optimizing productivity. Soils that are distinguished by fertility have good physical properties, they are water- and air-permeable, they warm up relatively quickly and cool down slowly, they are moderately loose, and most importantly, they contain a lot of humus and nutrients.
According to these main characteristics, chernozems and floodplain soils are the leaders, therefore they have the greatest fertility.
What does it depend on?
General fertility is influenced by many factors, but the main ones are climatic conditions, temperature, the ratio of humidity to evaporation, water regime, and vegetation. The formation of chernozems occurs under conditions of moderate temperatures, evaporation prevailing over moisture, and a large mass of grass residues, from which humus is formed.
Yellow soils, red soils, and podzolic soils are formed due to excessive moisture; minerals are washed out from the top layer, making them infertile. If moisture stagnates, peat-bog soils are formed.
Fertility also depends on vegetation, which is a source of organic material, as well as on the composition and activity of microorganisms. When pathogenic bacteria or fungi multiply, the fertility of even the best soil changes, making it unsuitable for growing plants for some time.
Thickness of the fertile soil layer
The thinnest topsoil layer is in the tundra and mountains - no more than 50 cm; on the plains it can be 3 times thicker. 1 cm of soil is formed in approximately a hundred years, but the formation process itself takes millennia. This is the result of changes in rock under the influence of temperature, air, water, microorganisms, animals and plants. The removed fertile layer is used for land reclamation and improvement of unproductive land in agriculture and forestry.
Overview of types of fertility enhancement
Fertility is a property that allows soil to be capable of reproduction, both in natural conditions and when used in agriculture. When using land, it is customary to highlight potential and economic fertility.
Artificial
It is acquired by land as a result of the impact of human activity on it and the use of agrotechnical methods that ensure the maintenance and improvement of its original properties. This includes cultivation, irrigation or land reclamation, and fertilization.
Natural
It is the result of biological processes that led to the creation of this type of soil without human intervention. Indicators of natural fertility are characteristic of virgin lands.
Potential
The total indicator, which is determined by the properties obtained by the soil during the process of soil formation, as well as as a result of agricultural activities. This indicator determines the value of soil quality as agricultural land.
Economic
This is an assessment of land in connection with its potential fertility, its ability to ensure production with artificial improvements in agrophysical characteristics due to the use of farming methods.The growth of economic fertility is expressed in an increase in crop yields, the volume of production per hectare of area.
Methods for studying and assessing soil fertility
Studying and assessing the fertile capacity of the land is important for solving many economic issues. Without them, it is impossible to predict crop yields and determine agricultural practices aimed at improving product quality. Analytical methods that are used for environmental and economic diagnostics of soil make it possible to assess the ability to support crop growth, calculate the amount and composition of fertilizers using chemical analysis, monitor changes in soil properties that directly affect plants, and determine the interaction of soil with applied fertilizers.
To acquire information about the soil, methods of soil science, as an independent science, and other natural sciences are used: biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, geology and others.
Research methods include: determination of the chemical composition and structure of the soil, agrophysical properties, structure and mechanical composition, humidity, density, moisture capacity, biological activity, percentage of humus, acidity of the environment, mobile forms of elements, provision of soil with total nitrogen and phosphorus, cation exchange capacity .
Visual diagnostics of plants growing on the studied soil is also carried out. By their appearance and condition, you can determine how well they feel, what elements they lack and what they have in excess.
Nuances of restoring and improving soil fertility
It is possible to increase the fertile capacity of the land by introducing scientifically based crop rotation, because different types of plants remove different elements from the soil, which must be taken into account when determining future crops. Crop rotation speeds up the restoration of the land and stops the spread of diseases and pests.
Improving the condition of the soil by carrying out a complex of agricultural measures. The most effective: introducing perennial grasses into crop rotation, sowing green manure before or after the growing season, sowing green manure in fallows.
It is recommended to use biological preparations to protect and stimulate plant growth, rather than chemical ones, which often have a toxic effect on all living things. Microorganisms die, seedlings and young plants are inhibited, toxic compounds are deposited and accumulated in the soil, which then enter the plants, water and air. Biological products do not have a harmful effect on plants; modern products are not inferior in effectiveness to synthetic ones.
It is practiced to apply organic fertilizers, manure, compost, humus and ash; or mineral fertilizers, where organic matter is not available or during intensive farming. However, if we talk specifically about maintaining fertility in the long term, then we need to use organic fertilizers, as they are closest to nature, harmless to plants, bacteria, worms, and animals.
Irrigation or, conversely, drainage of the site must be used if there are problems with the water regime. Both watering and drainage correct the flow of moisture into the soil, and therefore to the roots of plants. In areas prone to erosion, it is necessary to carry out anti-erosion measures: planting strips of trees to protect from the wind, sowing perennial grasses to strengthen the soil against the possibility of it being washed away by water.
The increase in natural fertility occurs extremely slowly, over hundreds of years. The developments of scientists suggest how this process can be qualitatively accelerated, what can be done so that the soil not only does not lose, but increases its potential, and becomes a source of ever-increasing harvests.
