When we devote equal attention to our soil and the plants and food grown from it, we can create healthier communities, more efficient yields, and more diverse ecosystems.
Nutrient-rich soil is the foundation of all successfully growing plants. What we put into the ground it just as important as what we extract from it. When we devote equal attention to our soil and the plants and food grown from it, we can create healthier communities, more efficient yields, and more diverse ecosystems. Yet advances in industrial farming, urban development, and general population growth have put excess strains on our planet’s soils–both farmed and not. While nutrient-rich soil is critical for many species, some have tremendous adaptations to sustain life in harsh, nutrient-poor environments. Conversely, many species have evolvedways to maintain their habitats with abundant nutrients. This collection explores just a sampling of the strategies nature uses to do that and more.
How might we follow nature’s lead to maintain soil health or grow crops, even in nutrient-poor areas? Replenish soil that’s been depleted? Retain valuable soil and keep it from being washed away into our waterways, endangering the quality of our critical water sources? Learning from nature’s strategies could uncover new solutions to these and other soil challenges.
