Abstract
All over the world, agriculture is threatened by degraded soils. Stripped of carbon from intensive farming, soils erode more easily, host fewer microbes and hold less water and nutrients. Fertilisers and pesticides applied to improve crop yields can leach beneath the soil and pollute the surrounding environment.
Soil degradation is a particularly big problem in China, where enormous pressure on natural resources from industrial-scale farming is accelerating the rate of soil erosion.
Looking for ways to make agriculture more sustainable can be difficult because the subject is so vastly complex, and crop and livestock productivity is often at odds with environmental sustainability. The effects of farming may stretch far beyond the topsoil studied by agricultural scientists. Adopting good sustainability practices requires farmers to buy into the idea, so an appreciation of their expertise and views is important.
Soil degradation is a particularly big problem in China, where enormous pressure on natural resources from industrial-scale farming is accelerating the rate of soil erosion.
Looking for ways to make agriculture more sustainable can be difficult because the subject is so vastly complex, and crop and livestock productivity is often at odds with environmental sustainability. The effects of farming may stretch far beyond the topsoil studied by agricultural scientists. Adopting good sustainability practices requires farmers to buy into the idea, so an appreciation of their expertise and views is important.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Specialist publication | The Conversation |
| Publisher | The Conversation UK |
| Publication status | Published - 3 Sept 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Paul Hallett receives funding from UK Research and Innovation.Ganlin Zhang receives funding from the National Science Foundation of China; the Chinese Academy of Sciences; the European Commission; and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.
Larissa A. Naylor receives funding from UK Research and Innovation.
Weikai Wang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Keywords
- agriculture
- soil
- China
- farming
- soil erosion
- soil degradation
- fertilisers
- nitrogen fertiliser
