{"id":12142,"date":"2023-04-14T17:09:39","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T20:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/centrosabia.org.br\/2023\/04\/14\/conservacao-do-solo-como-os-sistemas-agroflorestais-podem-ajudar\/"},"modified":"2023-04-15T14:49:34","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T17:49:34","slug":"conservacao-do-solo-como-os-sistemas-agroflorestais-podem-ajudar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centrosabia.org.br\/en\/2023\/04\/14\/conservacao-do-solo-como-os-sistemas-agroflorestais-podem-ajudar\/","title":{"rendered":"Soil conservation: how can Agroforestry Systems help?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April 15th is Soil Conservation Day, a day to reflect on and debate the degradation of our land and the solutions to stop this destruction<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Maria MenezesSabi\u00e1 Center Communication Intern<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

The date was chosen in honor of Hugh Hammond Bennett, a scholar who brought many discoveries and contributions to the subject in the United States. Talking about soil conservation is urgent!<\/strong> The FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, declared that \u2153 of the planet’s soil is degraded. There are several types of degradation, the most common in Brazil, according to FAO, are:\n Erosion<\/strong>\n \n<\/span>The natural process of breaking down and transporting sediments, caused by wind or rain. But it can be potentiated by human actions, such as the use of agrotoxics and pesticides (poison), monoculture, which is the planting of only one type of plant\/food, deforestation, among others.\n Nutrient imbalance<\/span>\n<\/strong>Through salinization<\/strong>: excess concentration of mineral salts in the soil, decreasing the water retention capacity, is worse in drier regions, such as the semiarid, where water evaporates much more easily.Laterization and acidification<\/strong>: when the soil accumulates iron or aluminum, decreasing the amount of organic matter.Compaction:<\/strong> when the land becomes “impermeable”, due to the handling of agricultural machinery, excessive cattle treading, and inadequate management. Thus, neither water nor nutrients can access the deeper layer of soil.<\/p>\n\n

Desertification:<\/strong> occurs in the semi-arid regions, where rainfall is low, associated with deforestation and management in which the land is unprotected and without coverage, it happens throughout the Northeast, and in part of Minas Gerais. It is the total drying up of the land, which no longer absorbs any nutrients and becomes infertile for planting. In the whole country, the areas that may have desertification, occupy, according to the Ministry of Environment, about 1.3 million square kilometers.<\/p>\n\n

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Celso Tavares\/G1 – Reproduction\/WEB<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

All these processes, although they exist naturally in nature, are worsened by human action<\/strong>. Poor agricultural practices, mostly used by agribusiness<\/strong>, such as the use of agrotoxins (poison), burning, deforestation, and overuse for raising cattle and other animals, potentiate the impoverishment of the land. Without fertile soil, we can’t plant, if we don’t plant, we can’t eat. This degradation is directly linked to the food security of humanity. In general, one may not notice the impact in day-to-day life, but for those who plant and need the land to survive, food production<\/strong> is no longer the same as it was years ago, and farmers can see the difference.<\/p>\n\n

The solution exists!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n