Understanding Soil Health
Soil biology is the key to sustaining vibrant life on earth. Unfortunately, many commercial and agricultural practices have devastated soil ecosystems across the globe. Deep tillage, compaction, and exposure to the elements cause widespread runoff, erosion, and topsoil loss, while releasing stored carbon into the atmosphere. This structural disruption and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides have devastated the soil biome. Deprived of the nutrient management functions of fungi, bacteria, and other microbes at the root base, plants become weaker, dependent on chemical crutches and more susceptible to insect and disease attacks while producing nutrient-impoverished crops.
In an effort to reverse this damage, agricultural trends such as minimal tillage, cover cropping, plant diversity, and management-intensive grazing are growing in popularity. These practices protect the soil, build back soil organic matter, and improve the retention of both water and carbon. However, in order to fully regenerate the soil ecosystem to its healthiest and most productive state, the re-establishment of microbial communities within the soil is paramount.
Fortunately, decades of scientific research and trials have uncovered a remarkable path forward. Working with, instead of against, nature to regenerate degraded soil ecosystems has yielded remarkable results in plant health, pest and disease suppression, and crop nutrition. Amplifying nature’s power through processes such as vermicomposting and the use of liquid biological amendments can restore the health and functionality of soil ecosystems remarkably quickly and effectively.
Plant-microbial interaction is vital for soil, plant, and human health.