“Our planet’s survival depends on the precious link between soil and water. Over 95 percent of our food originates from these two fundamental resources. Soil water, vital for nutrient absorption by plants, binds our ecosystems together. This symbiotic relationship is the foundation of our agricultural systems” (World Soil Day | United Nations)
As we mark World Soil Health Day on December 5 this UN Statement gives us much to unpack, pointing to the important questions of how we produce our food, and how the nutritional density of our food is, how producing food can impact the availability and quality of the water we drink, and how important topics are interconnected.
At the center of this question is our soil.
At Biolevel we’re passionate about providing solutions to re-invigorate soil biology, to produce with more efficiency and less environmental impact, and to grow more nutritionally-dense, healthier crops. And we’re committed to supporting farmers who want to protect their soils for subsequent generations.
Primary succession begins when no plant life is present on the landscape, such as after a lava flow or glacial retreat. Over centuries, soil forms and deepens and successive communities of plants grow. Copyright Shutterstock.com
But how did we get to this point? Why is our action needed? To understand an important root cause of today’s struggle with soil health and agricultural productivity we have to understand the natural succession in soil development.
The University of Chicago nicely describes this in this article (What is ecological succession? | University of Chicago News). As eco-systems develop starting with lichens and pioneer species to more mature plant communities, so does the soil develop. Agriculture has benefited from growing initially in mature soils, but soil depletion is now a pressing issue. The cultivation of soil and monoculture, prevent soil from regenerating and maturing.
When we look at farmland which is put into conservation, we can see ecological succession happening: We see grasses as pioneer species, but we also see a wider variety of weeds, the first shrubs and we also have proximity to more mature climax communities like forests where beneficial microbes and fungi can migrate into the formerly disturbed soil. This is not present in rowcrop farming.
Image source: Succession On fallow land, vegetation unfolds in a predictable pattern, with weedy species slowly giving way to longer-lived colonizers, such as canopy trees. Photo: Lisa M. Dellwo via https://www.caryinstitute.org/news-insights/2-minute-science/succession
At Biolevel we work with beneficial soil microbes which are naturally soil occurring, to support pioneer stage environments like cultivated, monocropped agricultural soils to achieve ecological succession. Our products enable important natural nutrient cycling, support the reinvigoration of soil and improve growers’ profitability .
Helping farmers to complement their work on soil structure and soil chemistry by addressing soil biology is our mission. We offer a practical range of products with ease of use in mind. Learn more about our biological soil solutions on our website or call Josh Seeman +1 904 657 0316 or email him to start your Biolevel biologicals journey. Interested in becoming a Biolevel distributor? Josh would love to talk to you too!