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https://theconversation.com/australias-soils-are-notoriously-poor-heres-how-scientists-are-working-to-improve-them-216640>
"Most things you eat grew in soil or ate plants growing in soil. We don’t think
much about it, but soil is essential to life.
During the last Ice Age, much of the northern hemisphere was covered in
glaciers. As they moved, glaciers eroded away the top layer of rock and left a
fresh layer of rock, ready to weather into soil.
But Australia didn’t have this renewal of soil from grinding ice – or from
volcanoes, which dredge up minerals vital to plant life from deep below. As a
result, our soils are famously very poor – heavily weathered, old, and short on
nutrients. This is one reason why we have so much land devoted to grazing
animals (crops need more nutrients than grass does), a heavy reliance on
fertilisers and a detailed knowledge of fertile soils where they exist.
Unfortunately, our soils – valued at A$930 billion – are under threat. The
latest
State of the Environment report rated the health of our soils as
“poor” and declining. Late last year, the government released a national plan
to improve our soils.
Researchers are working on ways of improving Australian soils to make
agriculture more sustainable and less reliant on fertilisers. Here are some
examples."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
