Nurturing nutrients
OPINION: Good nutrient management will keep nutrients cycling within the farm system and reduce losses to the environment to the bare minimum.
When we care for New Zealand’s economy and environment, this is a pledge to be taken by everyone on ‘world soils day’, which falls today (December 5, 2024) – protecting soil is paramount for both economic and environmental sustainability.
One teaspoon of soil contains more living organisms than there are people in the world and New Zealand loses about 192 million tonnes of soil to the ocean every year.
Without this “biological diversity” there would be no terrestrial life on earth. In addition to providing habitat for billions of organisms, soil acts as a water filter and growing medium. It contributes to biodiversity, solid waste treatment, acts as a filter for wastewater and supports agriculture.
Functional land management is a resource management framework that seeks to optimise the agricultural and environmental returns from land. It focuses on soil functions related to agricultural land use: primary production, water quality, carbon cycling and storage, functional and intrinsic biodiversity, and nutrient cycling.
Good practices needed include optimum cultivation and avoiding over-grazing and heavy grazing under wet weather, both of which can damage the soil’s structure and lead to compaction.
Others include carefully matching fertiliser applications to suit soil and crop requirements, practicing appropriate use of agrochemicals, managing pasture to maintain complete soil cover and careful application of farm dairy effluent to avoid saturation and to optimise organic matter and nutrient status.
Minimising human-induced erosion and maintaining good soil quality are essential for maintaining soil ecosystem services such as nutrient and water buffering, productive capacity, assimilating waste and minimising impacts of sediment and other contaminants on waterbodies.
Current and potential erosion are significant factors for soil and economic sustainability of our farming. Minimising natural and induced erosion and maintaining good soil quality are essential for maintaining soil ecosystem services and potential erosion are significant factors for soil and economic sustainability of our farming.
On this World Soils Day, let us re-dedicate for sediment reduction and save soil campaign.
Bala Tikkisetty, formerly principal sustainable agriculture advisor
