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1. Introduction
Inherent characteristics
Some characteristics of soil are inherent. For
example soil texture is inherent because it
is derived from the bedrock of a particular
location. In the same sense, a soil’s bedrock is
also inherent to the local geology. Soil pH, its
acidity or alkalinity, is another characteristic
that is largely inherent because it is difficult
to change on the scale of a ranch or farm
and over a season or even a decade. Soil
order is also an inherent property: you can’t
change an Aridisol to a Mollisol (See page
86) no matter how much you irrigate or
add compost. Inherent characteristics are not
changeable on human time scales, and thus
management approaches that work with these
characteristics, rather than attempt to change
them, will be more likely to succeed.
Dynamic characteristics
Other characteristics are dynamic. For
example, soil organic matter content can
depend a great deal on management
activities. It is important to note that the
magnitude of response of a particular soil’s
dynamic characteristics is dependent on its
inherent characteristics. Past management
activities may have led to soil degradation,
and the choices that are made about current
and future management will have an impact
also. Given the current state of the soil and the
goals and constraints of an operation, one set
of management decisions may lead to further
degradation, where another will lead toward
soil health.
Soil health is the capacity of a soil to function effectively and provide ecosystem services on a
sustainable basis. Soil management should meet the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs from that soil (Ghimire et al., 2018).
Sustainable agriculture supports the well-being of farming communities by improving soil health
and crop production with minimal negative impacts to the environment.
Criteria for determining if a management strategy addresses soil health include:
•
Meets economic goals of producers
•
Maintains environmental quality
•
Strengthens social wellbeing
•
Adapts over time to climate change and variability
•
Optimizes crop/livestock production and quality
Soil Health