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Healthy Soils

Description

The US Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Conservation Service defines soil health or quality as "the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans.” Healthy soils support diverse functions, including water infiltration and retention, resistance to water and wind erosion, filtering and buffering of potential pollutants, cycling and storage of nutrients, supporting wildlife habitat and biological diversity, and improving plant health and yields. Land management practices can have significant impacts on many aspects of soil health and sustainability. For example, practices such as tilling, grazing, burning, and application of amendments and pesticides can negatively or positively affect soil health, either undermining or enhancing soil sustainability for future generations.

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