Sustainable Farming
- Understanding and respecting the ecosytems and how Nature works,
- Therefore, it’s Important to know how soil is created
Trees
- Trees provide organic matter: dead leaves and branches.
- The fauna living on the surface of the soil will eat, digest and excrete that organic matter.
Fungi & Humus
- Those excrements are grinded organic mass.
- Mushrooms and fungi will transform those excrements into humus. Humus is a Latin word and means earth, ground.
- Important = humus is produced at the surface of the soil.
Tree Roots
Trees have vertical and horizontal roots, both have different functions in their environment.
Horizontal roots
- Humus created in the autumns and winter by the mushrooms and fungi will be mineralised by bacteria in the spring when temperature raises.
- Nitrogen and phosphate released during this bacterial mineralisation, and will drain down with rainwater.
- Horizontal roots grow under the organic matter to absorb nutrients & minerals.
- Nutrients & minerals absorbed, will not contaminate phreatic zone & ground water.
Vertical roots
- Some trees have 150 meters deep roots.
- Bring excess uncontaminated rainwater to phreatic zone or groundwater.
- Trees are only organism to fill the phreatic zone and groundwater.
Clay
- Humus is made on surface, clay is made deep in the soil.
- Tree roots will release acid that will convert rock in clay.
- Soil is a mixture of clay and humus.
Worms
- Worms or termites (tropical countries) eat humus and clay; those are mixed with calcium that they produce internally. Th
- The excrements of the worms is the soil. Closed system
Intensive Farming
What did Intensive farming do?
Trees – Trees were removed from the farm lands.
Mechanical Ploughing (big tractors)
- Ploughing Forceful overturning and mashing of the soil; to put the soil upside down
- Plouging created 3 problems
- little creatures and organisms cannot reach the organic matter deep in the soil
- fungi and mushroom are aerobic; they need oxygen. They cannot reach excrements in the soil
- the organic matter is placed under the tree roots. No absorption by the roots so the minerals and nutrients reach the Phreatic zone and contaminate the groundwater
Chemical fertilisers
- Introducing nitrogen – Stimulate bacteria but kill mushroom and fungi.
- Bacteria create minerals but not humus.
- Chemical fertilisers will accelerate mineralisation of the organic matter.
- Because worms are dying out, the amount of minerals brought back to the surface of the soil is reduced and will go to the phreatic zone
Intro Pesticides – 3 types
- Herbicides kill weeds
- Insecticides kill insects that eat plants and crops
- Fungicides kill any bad fungi
These pesticides kill what is useful for the ecosystem also.
Degradation of the soils
- Biological degradation – the living creatures and fungi are dying
- Chemical degradation of the soil – nutrients & minerals end up in phreatic zone
- Physical degradation – clay & humus not fixed anymore, clay ends rivers after rainfall.
Conclusion
- Sustainable farming – understanding and respecting ecosystem
- Intensive farming -increasing yield & production land. Not sustainability, but profit.
- Trees back farm lands. Master of the soil. They play a vital role.
- Soils not forcefully overturned; the organic matter has to remain on top
- The role of the worms, surface creatures and fungi should be understood. Health monitored
- Soil – good balance between carbon & nitrogen. Stop adding too much nitrogen.
- Pesticides and herbicides disrupt the ecosystem. Use eco-friendly alternatives.
- Beware of the fake science of some companies, closer to propaganda than science. Nature doesn’t need science and technology to make the ecosystem work.
Sustainable Farming
Sustainable farming is about understanding and respecting how Nature works.
Let’s see how soil is created. Long time ago, lands used to be covered with trees.
- Trees
Trees provide organic matter: dead leaves and branches fall from the trees.
The fauna living on the surface of the soil will eat, digest and excrete that organic matter.
- Fungi & Humus
Those excrements are in fact grind organic mass. Mushrooms and fungi will transform those excrements into humus. Humus is a Latin word and means earth, ground. Important to remember that humus is produced at the surface of the soil.
- Tree Roots
Trees have vertical and horizontal roots, both have a different function in their environment.
- Horizontal roots
The humus created in the autumns and winter by the mushrooms and fungi will be mineralised by bacteria in the spring when temperature raises. Nitrogen and phosphate are released during this bacterial mineralisation, and will drain down with rainwater.
The horizontal roots of the trees grow strategically under the organic matter to absorb these nutrients and minerals.
The nutrients and minerals will be absorb by the roots and will not reach the phreatic zone and contaminate the ground water.
- Vertical trees
Some trees have roots that goes as deep as 150 meters deep. Trees will take the excess uncontaminated rainwater and drain it down through its vertical roots back to the phreatic Zone or groundwater.
Trees are the only organism to fill the phreatic zone groundwater.
- Clay and Humus
Humus is made on surface, Clay is made deep in the soil.
The roots of the trees will release acid that will convert rocks into clay.
- Soil
Soil is a mixture of clay and humus. But how does it get mixed?
- Worms
The Worms or termites (tropical countries) eat humus and clay; those are mixed nd mix it with calcium that they produce internally. They create the soil.
It’s a closed system; it’s an eco-system nothing is lost.
Intensive agriculture
- Trees
Trees were removed from the farm lands.
- Mechanical Ploughing
Plowing is the forceful overturning and mashing of the soil to reveal the soil underneath the topsoil.
Modern mechanical plowing will put the organic material under the soil, which is a problem for three reasons.
(1) the little creatures and organisms that convert the organic matter into excrements for the mushrooms live on the surface of the soil.
(2) fungi and mushroom are aerobic; they need oxygen. Mechanical plowing pushes the organic matter deep into the soil where the mushroom and fungi cannot reach it.
(3) the organic matter is placed under the roots of the trees. The minerals and nutrients releases by the organic matter will not be absorbed by the roots of the trees and will contaminate the phreatic zone and ground water.
- Chemical fertilisers
Chemical fertilisers contain lots of nitrogen. Chemical fertilisers stimulate bacteria and kill mushroom and funghi. Bacteria create minerals but not humus. Bacteria multiply 20 times faster than mushroom. Chemical fertilisers will accelerate mineralisation of the organic matter.
Because worms are dying out, the amount of minerals brought back to the surface of the soil is reduced and will go to the phreatic zone
The nitrogen will pollute the ground water.
- Pesticides
There are different types of pesticides for getting rid of different pests:
- Herbicides kill weeds
- Insecticides kill insects that eat plants and crops
- Fungicides kill any bad fungi
These products kills everything including what useful for the ecosystem.
- Degradation of the soils
Biological degradation – the living creatures and funghi are dying
Chemical degradation of the soil . the soil loses the nutrients and many minerals end up in the phreatic zone
Physical degradation – the clay and the humus are not fixed anymore so the clay end up in the rivers after rainfall.
Conclusion
Sustainable farming is about understanding and respecting the ecosystem as much as possible.
Intensive farming is about increasing the yield and production of the land. Intensive farming is not about sustainability, it’s about making profit.
- Trees should be brought back on the farm lands. Trees are the master of the soil and play a vital role.
- The soils shouldn’t be forcefully overturned; the organic matter has to remain on top.
- The health of the worms, surface creatures and fungi should be monitored; and the ecosystem should be respected.
- The soil needs a good balance between carbon and nitrogen. Chemical fertilisers will add too much nitrogen.
- Pesticides and herbicides disrupt the ecosystem. Use eco-friendly alternatives.
- What is the the role of science and technology? Well, Nature doesn’t need science and technology to make the ecosystem work.
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