Soil is an important natural resource providing water,nutrients and mechanical support for plant growth. In Agroecosystem continous manipulation of soil is going on due to addition of inputs, removal of nutrients ,changing water balance and microbial life. These processes affect soil properties (physical,chemical and biological) and the deviation of these properties then soil can lose its original state leading to soil degradation. Maintaining the original state of soil needs to keep it healthy through agronomic practices. Soil health has been defined by Doran and Zeiss as “the capacity of a soil to function as a vital living system within ecosystem and land use boundaries to sustain plant and animal production, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and promote plant and animal health.”Soil health is an intrinsic characteristic of a soil. It is recognized as a list of characteristics that define its health and place it taxonomically. Soil quality, conversely, is an extrinsic characteristic of soils and changes with the desired use of that soil by humans. It may relate to agricultural output and capacity to support wildlife, to protect watershed, or provide recreational outputs.
“Monoculture farming of wheat over several years negatively impacted soil health, groundwater, and beneficial microorganisms. This left the crops susceptible to pests. Sustainable agriculture is an integrated, environmentally friendly alternative that uses biological, physical, chemical, and ecological principles to improve food production without harming the environment.”
Meeting the projected demand for healthy and sustainable food production is a crucial challenge. In fact, increasing crop productivity by mitigating climate change and preserving agroecosystems is one of the significant goals of sustainable agriculture. However, meeting agricultural demand by intensive use of synthetic fertilizer and pesticides has led to land degradation and environmental pollution in several agro-ecosystems which has had an adverse effect on humans, animals and aquatic ecosystems. For example, a multi-year monoculture farming study on wheat resulted in a reduction of soil health, groundwater purity, and beneficial microorganisms leaving plants vulnerable to pathogen and parasites. Sustainable agriculture has been defined as an alternative integrated approach that could be used to solve fundamental and applied issues related to food production in an ecological way. It integrates biological, physical, chemical and ecological principles to develop new practices that are not harmful to the environment.
(While Roohi Jan is a teacher at Agriculture, SKUAST-Kashmir and Juneda Jan a PG Student at Indira Gandhi National Open University. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
