What is soil fertility: what does it depend on, the main characteristics and properties

It is known that the volume and quality of the harvest, with sufficient agricultural technology, is affected by such a factor as soil fertility. Not all types of land are equally fertile. Consider what soil fertility is, what it depends on, what is the thickness of the fertile layer. In what ways can fertility be increased, methods for its research and evaluation, how to restore and improve the soil.

What is soil fertility

This is a soil that, in many ways, is favorable for agricultural plants, capable of not only supporting their growth and development, but also optimizing yields.Fertile soils have good physical properties, they are water and breathable, warm up relatively quickly and cool slowly, moderately loose, and most importantly - contain a lot of humus and nutrients.

Chernozem and floodplain soils are the leaders in these main characteristics, so they are the most fertile.

What does it depend on?

Many factors affect the overall fertility, but the main ones are climatic conditions, temperature, the ratio of humidity to evaporation, water regime, and vegetation. The formation of chernozems takes place under conditions of moderate temperatures, evaporation prevailing over moisture, a large mass of grass residues, from which humus is formed.

Zholtozems, red soils, podzolic soils are formed with excessive moisture, minerals are washed out of the upper layer, making them infertile. If moisture stagnates, peat-bog soils form.

With sufficient moisture and incomplete washing, chestnut and gray forest soils are formed, in which the accumulation of humus is average. With a strong lack of moisture, semi-desert and desert soils develop. They can be saline, s alts remain after the evaporation of groundwater. Soil formation factors are interrelated and have an equal impact.

Fertility also depends on vegetation, which is a source of organic material, as well as on the composition and activity of microorganisms. With the reproduction of pathogenic bacteria or fungi, the fertility of even the best soil changes, it becomes unsuitable for growing plants for some time.

The thickness of the fertile layer of the earth

The thinnest topsoil is in the tundra and in the mountains - no more than 50 cm, on the plains it can be 3 times thicker. 1 cm of soil is formed in about a hundred years, but the formation process itself takes millennia.This is the result of rock changes under the influence of temperature, air, water, microorganisms, animals and plants. The removed fertile layer is used for land reclamation, improvement of unproductive lands in agriculture and forestry.

Overview of fertility enhancement types

Fertility - a property that allows the soil to be capable of reproduction, both in natural conditions and when used in agriculture. When using land, it is customary to allocate potential and economic fertility.

Artificial

It is acquired by the land as a result of the impact of human activity on it, the use of agrotechnical methods that ensure the maintenance and improvement of the original properties. These are cultivation, irrigation or melioration, 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 that are obtained by the soil in 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 the assessment of land in relation to potential fertility, its ability to provide production with artificial improvements in agrophysical characteristics due to the application of farming methods. The growth of economic fertility is expressed in an increase in crop yields, the volume of production per hectare.

Methods for research and evaluation of soil fertility

Study and evaluation of the fertile capacity of the land is important for solving many economic issues.Without them, it is impossible to predict crop yields, determine agricultural practices aimed at improving product quality. Analytical methods that are used for ecological and economic soil diagnostics make it possible to assess the ability to maintain crop growth, calculate the amount and composition of fertilizers by 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, soil science methods are used, as an independent science, and other natural sciences: biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, geology and others.

The 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 soils 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 which elements they have in abundance.

Nuances of restoring and improving soil fertility

It is possible to achieve an increase in the fertile capacity of the land by introducing a scientifically based crop rotation, because different types of plants take different elements out of the soil, which must be taken into account when determining future crops. Crop rotation speeds up the restoration of the land, stops the spread of diseases and pests.

Improves the condition of the soil through a complex of agricultural activities. Most effective: introducing perennial grasses into crop rotation, sowing green manure before or after the growing season, sowing green manure on fallows.

Fertility increases due to liming of acidic soils, systematic weed control. Mulching can significantly reduce the number of weeds, reduce evaporation, retain moisture, which is especially important for soils in arid regions.

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 ground, which then enter plants, water and air. Biological products do not have a harmful effect on plants; modern products are not inferior to synthetic ones in terms of effectiveness.

The application of organic fertilizers, manure, compost, humus and ash is practiced; or mineral fertilizers, where organics are not available or with intensive farming.However, if we talk specifically about maintaining fertility in the long term, then you need to use organic fertilizers, as the closest to nature, harmless to plants, bacteria, worms, animals.

Irrigation or, conversely, drainage of the site must be applied if there are problems with the water regime. Both watering and draining correct the flow of moisture into the soil, and hence to the roots of plants. In areas prone to erosion, it is mandatory to carry out anti-erosion measures: planting strips of trees that protect from the wind, sowing perennial grasses to strengthen the soil against the possibility of being washed away by water.

The increase in natural fertility is extremely slow, 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, becomes a source of more and more crops.

Recommended