Shishir Reza :
Every 5 seconds the equivalent of 1 soccer pitch of soil is eroded. Over 33% of the earth’s soil is already degraded and over 90% could become degraded by 2050. General causes of soil erosion are, Surface runoff, continuously flow of streams and rivers; Continuously Deforestation by Humans; Flood cause heavy damage and with heavy flow; Wind, uprooting of trees and plants cause deforestation; Mass Movement, outward and downward movement of rock and sediments on a sloped surface due to force of gravity; Deforestation is the main activity of human; Farmers, by overusing of fertilizers in the crop fields; Roads and Urbanizations and Low awareness towards the people about the importance of soil.
Healthy status of soil is fundamental for our natural environment. Structured and fertile soil works as a medium of ensuring food security as well as an adaptation and mitigation factor of climate change. Soil is a natural body comprised of minerals, organic matter, liquid and gases that occurs on the land surface, occupies space, and is characterized by one or both of the horizons or layers that are distinguishable from the initial material as a result of losses, transfers, and transformations of energy and matter or the ability to support rooted plants in a natural environment. Soil provides water, nutrients for plants and trees in natural forests and Grasslands, perennial crops and planted grassland. It provides the habitat for decomposer organisms which have an essential role in the cycling of carbon and mineral nutrients. Soil acts as a buffer for temperature change and for the flow of water between the atmosphere and ground water. Soil has ion exchange properties and it acts as a pH buffer, retains nutrient and other elements against loss by leaching and volatilization.
Farm Yards Manure towards Soil Security
Globally, around 1000 million men, women and children are chronically hungry due to extreme and hardcore poverty. Living in a corporate world, we are incapable to afford pure water and food to them owing to development-deprivation model which is an ultimate phenomenon of neo-liberalism. During the period of 1960-1970, green revolution had brought a new dimension in agricultural sectors. Later on – silver revolution intensified fish resources and white revolution for poultry resources during 1980-90 to reduce the global poverty level. International Fertilizer and Pesticides Company advised local farmers to employ chemical fertilizers and pesticides in land for more production and nutrition security. Previously, farmers used to apply sap of diverse plants, indigenous nets for killing pest, and husks of various crops – that was a traditional agriculture.
Nowadays, our agricultural practices are intensifying in the name of modernization. Intensification encourages farmers to employ more agrochemicals in land. It includes – land, labour, hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and extraction of huge ground water for irrigation. Even farmers are involved in commercial cultivation and contract farming with national and international companies. They advise local farmers to use seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, water pulling out machine – produced by them. Obviously, modern agriculture has brought blessings for farmers. But the current issues – more methane gas production from land, less pollination, arsenic pollution, nutrition insecurity, skin diseases of farmers, soil health insecurity and environmental security emerges question.
In general, withdrawal of more water creates a vacuum for arsenic poisoning in aquifer. Also, crops can uptake arsenic or any heavy metals. Agro-chemicals induced crops are high in amount but it totally nutrition less. Using of diverse inimical herbicides and pesticides not only kill harmful pest but also beneficial pest – that reduces the total pollination of crops. Apart from that, soil is a compact body of – water, air, mineral and organic matter. But agrochemical affects the composition of soil health and fractures the texture, structure, profile and fertility of soil. Ultimately, soil losses own production capacity day by day. In this context, we may employ farm yard manures for sustainable agricultural practices. Manures of cows and buffaloes are enriched with nitrogen, phosphate and potash. Both cow dung and urine can be use as manures. In cow dung, the amount of nitrogen is 0.40%, phosphate 0.20% and potash 0.10%. In urine, there are 1% nitrogen, 0.1% phosphate and 1.35% potash.
Goat and Sheep excretes both dung and urine can be applied in land as natural fertilizer enriches with nitrogen 0.75%, phosphate 0.50% and potash 2.10%. Their urine is composed with 1.35 % nitrogen, 0.05 % phosphate and 2.10% potash. Excreta and droppings emerge from horse are also beneficial for agriculture. The horse dung has 0.55% nitrogen, 0.30% phosphate and 0.40% potash. In addition, urine has 1.35% nitrogen, 0.10% phosphate and 1.25% potash. Apart from that, manures induced from swine are healthy for soil fertility. Dung of swine has 0.55% nitrogen, 0.50% phosphate and 0.40% potash. Also, urine is enriched with 0.40% nitrogen, 0.20% phosphate and 0.40% potash.
Pollination is essential for crops that will escalate by the use of local manures. Farm yard manures would boost the crops production capacity of soil. Not only integrate the air, water, organic matter and minerals in soil, farmers would be risk free from chemicals. In addition, these manures enhance the water holding potential of soil. Also, farm yard manures ensure the nutritional value of vegetables and fruits. Globally, different crisis are ongoing. Mass people are guiltless victim of food and nutrition insecurity, hardcore poverty, extermination, food politics and heavy metal pollution. Locally, we may bring into play the farm yard manures in our land for sustainable agriculture. Thus we can ensure our soil and climate security.
Soil and Climate Change
How much carbon soils can absorb and how long they can store it varies by location and is effectively determined by how the land is managed. Because almost half the land that can support plant life on Earth has been converted to croplands, pastures and rangelands, soils have actually lost 50 to 70 percent of the carbon they once held. This has contributed about a quarter of all the manmade global greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet. Agricultural practices that disturb the soil-such as tilling, planting mono-crops, removing crop residue, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides and over-grazing-expose the carbon in the soil to oxygen, allowing it to burn off into the atmosphere. Deforestation, thawing permafrost, and the draining of peat lands also cause soils to release carbon. Through photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They use water and sunlight to turn the carbon into leaves, stems, seeds and roots. As the plants respire, they return some carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and exude some carbon as a sugary substance through their roots. This secretion feeds the microbes (bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes) that live underground. When the plants die, soil microbes break down their carbon compounds and use them for metabolism and growth, respiring some back to the atmosphere. Because microbial decomposition releases carbon dioxide, the soil can store more carbon when it is protected from microbial activity. Some carbon, made up mainly of plant residue and the carbon exuded by plant roots, remains in soil only for a few days to a few years. Microbes can easily digest this “fast pool” of carbon, so it emits a great deal of carbon dioxide. The “slow pool,” where carbon can remain for years to decades, is composed of processed plant material, microbial residue from the fast pool and carbon molecules that are protected from microbes.
Study suggests that as global warming continues, soils will release more carbon than was previously thought. Earlier studies that heated soils 5 to 20 cm deep found that the soil would release 9 to12 percent more carbon dioxide than normal. But deeper levels of soil contain more than 50 percent of global soil carbon and after heating soils to 100 cm deep, scientists found that 4° C of warming could result in soils releasing as much as 37% more carbon dioxide than normal. As increasing amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere stimulate plant growth and the secretion of root exudates, studies indicate that there will be more carbon for microbes in the fast pool. This will boost microbial decomposition and respiration of CO2.
A 26-year-long soil warming study in a hardwood forest found that warming temperatures could spur recurring pulses of carbon dioxide emissions from soils. Then CO2 emissions ramped up again for five years followed by another decline. The scientists concluded that the community of microbes changed over the years. After the first wave of microbes that decomposed the easily digestible carbon died off, a new set of microbes evolved that were able to decompose more resistant carbon that contains more minerals or is wood-based. Most global warming studies only calculate the initial rise in carbon emissions; this research suggests that microbes will evolve, resulting in continuing pulses of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Concluding Remarks
In order to adapt with climate change and meet the goal of food security we can conserve soil through different methods. The soil erosion reduction strategies can be grow more trees and plants; terrace farming is the best method of farming; windbreaks, we should plant trees and shrubs along the agricultural fields; Our farmers should reduce the use of an excessive amount of Fertilizers; Farmers should use mixed farming method than the single crop in the agricultural fields; We should also use crop rotation which enhances the quality of soil; We should plant trees with highly deep roots; Make a group of peoples and tell the importance of the soil to the people who are not aware of the causes of Soil erosion and soil pollution; Tell the farmers that don’t use fertilizers for farming will help to reduce the soil pollution and erosion of soil; Tell the peoples that don’t use the plastics items for daily use because it is undecomposable harmful material which causes soil pollution and people suffer from soil diseases.
Every 5 seconds the equivalent of 1 soccer pitch of soil is eroded. Over 33% of the earth’s soil is already degraded and over 90% could become degraded by 2050. General causes of soil erosion are, Surface runoff, continuously flow of streams and rivers; Continuously Deforestation by Humans; Flood cause heavy damage and with heavy flow; Wind, uprooting of trees and plants cause deforestation; Mass Movement, outward and downward movement of rock and sediments on a sloped surface due to force of gravity; Deforestation is the main activity of human; Farmers, by overusing of fertilizers in the crop fields; Roads and Urbanizations and Low awareness towards the people about the importance of soil.
Healthy status of soil is fundamental for our natural environment. Structured and fertile soil works as a medium of ensuring food security as well as an adaptation and mitigation factor of climate change. Soil is a natural body comprised of minerals, organic matter, liquid and gases that occurs on the land surface, occupies space, and is characterized by one or both of the horizons or layers that are distinguishable from the initial material as a result of losses, transfers, and transformations of energy and matter or the ability to support rooted plants in a natural environment. Soil provides water, nutrients for plants and trees in natural forests and Grasslands, perennial crops and planted grassland. It provides the habitat for decomposer organisms which have an essential role in the cycling of carbon and mineral nutrients. Soil acts as a buffer for temperature change and for the flow of water between the atmosphere and ground water. Soil has ion exchange properties and it acts as a pH buffer, retains nutrient and other elements against loss by leaching and volatilization.
Farm Yards Manure towards Soil Security
Globally, around 1000 million men, women and children are chronically hungry due to extreme and hardcore poverty. Living in a corporate world, we are incapable to afford pure water and food to them owing to development-deprivation model which is an ultimate phenomenon of neo-liberalism. During the period of 1960-1970, green revolution had brought a new dimension in agricultural sectors. Later on – silver revolution intensified fish resources and white revolution for poultry resources during 1980-90 to reduce the global poverty level. International Fertilizer and Pesticides Company advised local farmers to employ chemical fertilizers and pesticides in land for more production and nutrition security. Previously, farmers used to apply sap of diverse plants, indigenous nets for killing pest, and husks of various crops – that was a traditional agriculture.
Nowadays, our agricultural practices are intensifying in the name of modernization. Intensification encourages farmers to employ more agrochemicals in land. It includes – land, labour, hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and extraction of huge ground water for irrigation. Even farmers are involved in commercial cultivation and contract farming with national and international companies. They advise local farmers to use seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, water pulling out machine – produced by them. Obviously, modern agriculture has brought blessings for farmers. But the current issues – more methane gas production from land, less pollination, arsenic pollution, nutrition insecurity, skin diseases of farmers, soil health insecurity and environmental security emerges question.
In general, withdrawal of more water creates a vacuum for arsenic poisoning in aquifer. Also, crops can uptake arsenic or any heavy metals. Agro-chemicals induced crops are high in amount but it totally nutrition less. Using of diverse inimical herbicides and pesticides not only kill harmful pest but also beneficial pest – that reduces the total pollination of crops. Apart from that, soil is a compact body of – water, air, mineral and organic matter. But agrochemical affects the composition of soil health and fractures the texture, structure, profile and fertility of soil. Ultimately, soil losses own production capacity day by day. In this context, we may employ farm yard manures for sustainable agricultural practices. Manures of cows and buffaloes are enriched with nitrogen, phosphate and potash. Both cow dung and urine can be use as manures. In cow dung, the amount of nitrogen is 0.40%, phosphate 0.20% and potash 0.10%. In urine, there are 1% nitrogen, 0.1% phosphate and 1.35% potash.
Goat and Sheep excretes both dung and urine can be applied in land as natural fertilizer enriches with nitrogen 0.75%, phosphate 0.50% and potash 2.10%. Their urine is composed with 1.35 % nitrogen, 0.05 % phosphate and 2.10% potash. Excreta and droppings emerge from horse are also beneficial for agriculture. The horse dung has 0.55% nitrogen, 0.30% phosphate and 0.40% potash. In addition, urine has 1.35% nitrogen, 0.10% phosphate and 1.25% potash. Apart from that, manures induced from swine are healthy for soil fertility. Dung of swine has 0.55% nitrogen, 0.50% phosphate and 0.40% potash. Also, urine is enriched with 0.40% nitrogen, 0.20% phosphate and 0.40% potash.
Pollination is essential for crops that will escalate by the use of local manures. Farm yard manures would boost the crops production capacity of soil. Not only integrate the air, water, organic matter and minerals in soil, farmers would be risk free from chemicals. In addition, these manures enhance the water holding potential of soil. Also, farm yard manures ensure the nutritional value of vegetables and fruits. Globally, different crisis are ongoing. Mass people are guiltless victim of food and nutrition insecurity, hardcore poverty, extermination, food politics and heavy metal pollution. Locally, we may bring into play the farm yard manures in our land for sustainable agriculture. Thus we can ensure our soil and climate security.
Soil and Climate Change
How much carbon soils can absorb and how long they can store it varies by location and is effectively determined by how the land is managed. Because almost half the land that can support plant life on Earth has been converted to croplands, pastures and rangelands, soils have actually lost 50 to 70 percent of the carbon they once held. This has contributed about a quarter of all the manmade global greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet. Agricultural practices that disturb the soil-such as tilling, planting mono-crops, removing crop residue, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides and over-grazing-expose the carbon in the soil to oxygen, allowing it to burn off into the atmosphere. Deforestation, thawing permafrost, and the draining of peat lands also cause soils to release carbon. Through photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They use water and sunlight to turn the carbon into leaves, stems, seeds and roots. As the plants respire, they return some carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and exude some carbon as a sugary substance through their roots. This secretion feeds the microbes (bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes) that live underground. When the plants die, soil microbes break down their carbon compounds and use them for metabolism and growth, respiring some back to the atmosphere. Because microbial decomposition releases carbon dioxide, the soil can store more carbon when it is protected from microbial activity. Some carbon, made up mainly of plant residue and the carbon exuded by plant roots, remains in soil only for a few days to a few years. Microbes can easily digest this “fast pool” of carbon, so it emits a great deal of carbon dioxide. The “slow pool,” where carbon can remain for years to decades, is composed of processed plant material, microbial residue from the fast pool and carbon molecules that are protected from microbes.
Study suggests that as global warming continues, soils will release more carbon than was previously thought. Earlier studies that heated soils 5 to 20 cm deep found that the soil would release 9 to12 percent more carbon dioxide than normal. But deeper levels of soil contain more than 50 percent of global soil carbon and after heating soils to 100 cm deep, scientists found that 4° C of warming could result in soils releasing as much as 37% more carbon dioxide than normal. As increasing amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere stimulate plant growth and the secretion of root exudates, studies indicate that there will be more carbon for microbes in the fast pool. This will boost microbial decomposition and respiration of CO2.
A 26-year-long soil warming study in a hardwood forest found that warming temperatures could spur recurring pulses of carbon dioxide emissions from soils. Then CO2 emissions ramped up again for five years followed by another decline. The scientists concluded that the community of microbes changed over the years. After the first wave of microbes that decomposed the easily digestible carbon died off, a new set of microbes evolved that were able to decompose more resistant carbon that contains more minerals or is wood-based. Most global warming studies only calculate the initial rise in carbon emissions; this research suggests that microbes will evolve, resulting in continuing pulses of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Concluding Remarks
In order to adapt with climate change and meet the goal of food security we can conserve soil through different methods. The soil erosion reduction strategies can be grow more trees and plants; terrace farming is the best method of farming; windbreaks, we should plant trees and shrubs along the agricultural fields; Our farmers should reduce the use of an excessive amount of Fertilizers; Farmers should use mixed farming method than the single crop in the agricultural fields; We should also use crop rotation which enhances the quality of soil; We should plant trees with highly deep roots; Make a group of peoples and tell the importance of the soil to the people who are not aware of the causes of Soil erosion and soil pollution; Tell the farmers that don’t use fertilizers for farming will help to reduce the soil pollution and erosion of soil; Tell the peoples that don’t use the plastics items for daily use because it is undecomposable harmful material which causes soil pollution and people suffer from soil diseases.
(Shishir Reza, Environmental Analyst & Associate Member, Bangladesh Economic Association)
