Managing Soil Health Towards Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Macro and microorganisms play a crucial role in improving soil health. Soil organisms decompose complex organic substances and release nutrients. Further, they involve in nutrient cycling and transformation process in the soil. Population dynamics of soil organisms depend on many external factors including human activities, climate change, contaminations and soil erosion. Hence, adverse conditions may create a tremendous pressure on soil biota leading to large-scale land degradation and loss of productivity in the long run. The positive effect of soil organic matter (SOM) on soil health is well documented. Soil organic matter serves as a source of nutrients for plant growth, enhances soil aggregation, retains soil moisture, increases infiltration and reduces the risk of soil erosion. Depletion of SOM pool specially in farmlands is a global issue. Therefore, it is essential to manage SOM pool above the threshold level (1.0 -1.5%) in order to reverse the process of soil degradation. In addition, quality and quantity of SOM pool is one of the crucial factors in order to strengthening resilience and reduce risk of soil degradation. It has been reported that, depletion of Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) pool is grater when essential nutrients are limited in the soil for microbial growth. Thus, application of organic manure with alternative nutrient sources could be a better option to increase SOC pool and soil health.