PLSC204 Lecture 28: Soil degradation and restoration

• School: University of Delaware
• Department: Plant and Soil Sciences
• Course: PLSC204
• Professor: Jeffrey Fuhrmann

Document Summary

Reduces plant vigor, biomass, and the rhizosphere effect. Promotes development and protection of soil structure. Grow cover crops, perhaps with species mixes. Plant fall/early spring crop, e. g. , winter wheat. Helps preserve microbe communities, esp. mycorrhizal fungi. Till only when necessary (liming, green manure) How to restore productivity in situation with low om, high bulk density , eroded soil, low fertility and low ph. To the surface of the soil, apply high rates of manure or other organic matter. Also apply lime to raise the ph. Disk the above into the soil, thereby also lowering the bulk density. Sow a leguminous (esp. ) or other cover crop. Soil organic matter build up slowly, can be tripled in 1-2 decades. Populations of mycorrhizal fungi and other soil microbes take time to recover. Beneficial insects recover along with the soil. In general, farms can be profitable during the transition due to lowered fertilizer costs, etc.