The adoption of no-till instead of reduced tillage does not improve some soil quality parameters in Argentinean Pampas

Domínguez, Anahí; Bedano, José Camilo

doi:10.1016/j.apsoil.2015.10.014

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…No-till farming can slow soil erosion and pollution runoff, benefiting aquatic ecosystems, improving agronomic productivity, and achieving food security [7,69,70,[127][128][129][130]200,202,214]. No-till farming, however, may not suffice to properly protect the soil when other practices are not implemented alongside; for example, cover crops or appropriate rotation schedules, or when it is accompanied by the use of high amounts of agrochemicals [215,216]. Lately, it has been argued that no-till agriculture may be less beneficial than expected as a carbon sink and in the mitigation of climate change [217].…”

Section: Preserving Soil Organic Matter: Adopting Alternative Agriculmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Practices such as no-till agriculture or minimum tillage, and organic farming can help reduce soil loss, increase SOM and restore soil fertility and biodiversity [16,70,125,140,201,202,[211][212][213][214][215][216][217][218][219][220][221][222][223][224] (Figure 10). No-till farming can slow soil erosion and pollution runoff, benefiting aquatic ecosystems, improving agronomic productivity, and achieving food security [7,69,70,[127][128][129][130]200,202,214].…”

Section: Preserving Soil Organic Matter: Adopting Alternative Agriculmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil Degradation, Land Scarcity and Food Security: Reviewing a Complex Challenge

2016

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Soil health, along with water supply, is the most valuable resource for humans, as human life depends on the soil's generosity. Soil degradation, therefore, poses a threat to food security, as it reduces yield, forces farmers to use more inputs, and may eventually lead to soil abandonment. Unfortunately, the importance of preserving soil health appears to be overlooked by policy makers. In this paper, I first briefly introduce the present situation concerning agricultural production, natural resources, soil degradation, land use and the challenge ahead, to show how these issues are strictly interwoven. Then, I define soil degradation and present a review of its typologies and estimates at a global level. I discuss the importance of preserving soil capital, and its relationship to human civilization and food security. Trends concerning the availability of arable agricultural land, different scenarios, and their limitations, are analyzed and discussed. The possible relation between an increase in a country's GNP, population and future availability of arable land is also analyzed, using the World Bank's database. I argue that because of the many sources of uncertainty in the data, and the high risks at stake, a precautionary approach should be adopted when drawing scenarios. The paper ends with a discussion on the key role of preserving soil organic matter, and the need to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices. I also argue that both our relation with nature and natural resources and our lifestyle need to be reconsidered.

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Section: Preserving Soil Organic Matter: Adopting Alternative Agriculmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Preserving Soil Organic Matter: Adopting Alternative Agriculmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Degradation, Land Scarcity and Food Security: Reviewing a Complex Challenge

2016

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“…Regarding soil biological degradation, a decrease in the abundance of some groups of mites and springtails and a change in the proportion of mite suborders [75] and changes in taxa dominance [76] were observed in NT. Similar changes were observed for soil macrofauna taxa: earthworms, beetles, spiders and ants [77,78]. The changes in soil biota were related to an increase in bulk density, a reduction of soil organic C content, a reduction of abundance and heterogeneity of soybean stubble as well as to the effect of agrochemicals [76][77][78].…”

Section: Land Uses and Management Systems In Argentine Pampasmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…Similar changes were observed for soil macrofauna taxa: earthworms, beetles, spiders and ants [77,78]. The changes in soil biota were related to an increase in bulk density, a reduction of soil organic C content, a reduction of abundance and heterogeneity of soybean stubble as well as to the effect of agrochemicals [76][77][78]. Moreover, in the entire Pampas region, these no-till management practices have led to several degrees of physical and chemical soil degradation [65].…”

Section: Land Uses and Management Systems In Argentine Pampasmentioning

confidence: 62%

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Large-Scale Agricultural Management and Soil Meso- and Macrofauna Conservation in the Argentine Pampas

Bedano

Domínguez

2016

Sustainability

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Soil is the most basic resource for sustainable agricultural production; it promotes water quality, is a key component of the biogeochemical cycles and hosts a huge diversity of organisms. However, we are not paying enough attention to soil degradation produced by land use. Modern agriculture has been successful in increasing yields but has also caused extensive environmental damage, particularly soil degradation. In the Argentine Pampas, agriculturization reached a peak with the generalized use of the no-till technological package: genetically modified soybeans tolerant to glyphosate, no-till, glyphosate, and inorganic fertilizers. This phenomenon has been widely spread in the country; the no-till package has been applied in large areas and has been used by tenants in a 60%-70% of cultivated lands. Thus, those who were involved in developing management practices may not be the same as those who will face degradation issues related to those practices. Indeed, most evidence reviewed in this paper suggests that the most widely distributed practices in the Pampas region are actually producing severe soil degradation. Biological degradation is particularly important because soil biota is involved in numerous soil processes on which soil functioning relies, affecting soil fertility and productivity. For example, soil meso-and macrofauna are especially important in nutrient cycling and in soil structure formation and maintenance, and they are key components of the network that links microbial process to the scale of fields and landscapes where ecosystem services are produced. However, the knowledge of the impact of different agricultural managements on soil meso-and macrofauna in Pampas agroecosystems is far from conclusive at this stage. The reason for this lack of definite conclusions is that this area has been given less attention than in other parts of the world; the response of soil fauna to agricultural practices is complex and taxa-dependent; and there is a wide variety of practices in the main types of agricultural systems, making generalizations difficult. A review of the existing studies on soil meso-and macrofauna in agroecosystems, revealed that (a) agricultural soils, regardless of farming system, are strongly modified in biological aspects compared to the same soils without human interventions; (b) there are no conclusive results about no-till benefits compared to reduced tillage or conventional tillage; (c) agricultural managements that are alternative to the traditional conventional systems are very poorly represented in research.

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Agroecology and organic farming foster soil health by promoting soil fauna

Domínguez

Escudero

Rodríguez

et al. 2023

Environ Dev Sustain

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The adoption of no-till instead of reduced tillage does not improve some soil quality parameters in Argentinean Pampas

Cited by 24 publications

References 47 publications

Soil Degradation, Land Scarcity and Food Security: Reviewing a Complex Challenge

Soil Degradation, Land Scarcity and Food Security: Reviewing a Complex Challenge

Large-Scale Agricultural Management and Soil Meso- and Macrofauna Conservation in the Argentine Pampas

Agroecology and organic farming foster soil health by promoting soil fauna

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