The importance of laying down the GROUNDwork – Part 4.
Give and take
Whatever makes it seem justified for us, intensive soil cultivation really is an intrusive activity when it comes to the complex system of soils. It has physical, chemical and biological consequences. There are numerous drawbacks to consider, such as soil compaction, structural degradation or even the intermix of barren layers and topsoil may occur causing a decrease in biodiversity…
What are the possible outcomes? First of all, nature’s reactions to blight influence of human activity take time to become evident especially compared to reaction times humans are used to. This could be the reason why we tend to think that all is well. Whereas in reality people should pay attention to those hidden consequences that are difficult to notice. Problems such as the decrease in the nutrient content of food slowly creep into our lives. As a result, a new phenomenon emerged: malnutrition caused by the low quality of food. A good example could be an apple that only contains the fraction of the amount of vitamins it could otherwise store. There are similar findings in the case of vegetables, honey and milk. On the other hand, nowadays there are more and more instances when unhealthful pesticide residue is proved to be present in our food.1 The reason behind all of these is depleted soil, the abandonment of traditional technology in farming, just to name a few.
Probably the harmful effects that are beginning to unfold today are the results of mistakes made 10-20 years ago or even earlier. Sadly, these problems and difficulties are likely to escalate. So, our actions today really do matter as we cannot be certain what they bring about in the future, let that be tomorrow or in a decade. There are numerous examples we must acknowledge, like the atrazine contamination of the drinking water in Csallóköz2, or the reduction of biodiversity in the area of primaeval forests.3
Although all beginnings are hard, determination will pay off. Slowly but surely, we learn about using environmentally friendly resources – as you can see from the introduction of agroforestry.4 The protection of soils might not be its primary goal; however, it yields positive results in connection to the preservation of soil structure. Compared to traditional agricultural production, this method also treats woody plants as part of the production system.
Let’s evoke our old friend from previous articles, the old oak, once again. By the beginning of the 21st century, the landscape where it has lived for so many years shows the image of an average agricultural region. Endless fields, huge grain fields, which are separated from each other by rare rows of trees or forest strips. Those narrow areas escaping cultivation are real safe havens for not only trees, but also for the dense thicket of hedge-rose and dogwood growing beneath them protecting squills. Unfortunately, this green area is decreasing inch by inch because of cultivation. The lost parts might seem insignificant at first glance, still if we take a look at the change in a long-term perspective it becomes apparent how substantial it was. The tree’s root system is “scratched” deeper every year by the ploughshare, and its living space is getting narrower. Is the end near?
The next part of this article series will reveal the fate of the old oak and what the future holds for the landscape.
“We have inherited an incredibly beautiful and complex garden, but the trouble is that we have been appallingly bad gardeners.” (Gerald Durrell)
Translated by Zsófia Horváth.
Notes:
- Csökken a zöldségek tápanyagtartalma? (gov.hu) ↩︎
- https://www.hirek.sk/kulfold/atrazin-botrany-vege-a-vizivasi-tilalomnak-a-csallokozben ↩︎
- The exploitation of forests by humans and the consequent deterioration of their condition led to the fact that at the beginning of the 18th century, the way they were treated had to be radically changed. The period of planned forest use appears, in which crop cultivation methods of agriculture were adopted to transform and repair degraded forests. Selection cutting was developed on the model of sowing and harvesting. The basic idea of forest conservation 200 years ago was that the forest area should not decrease and the amount of timber that can be continuously extracted from it should not decrease. On the other hand, the typical image of forests is changing. Its characteristic species are disappearing, its structure is not uneven-aged anymore, its characteristic renewal processes (small and large forest cycle) are also less typical accompanied by the disappearance of primaeval forests of the Carpathian basin. (see under: Bartha Dénes – Oroszi Sándor: Őserdők a Kárpát-medencében. Bp. 2005) ↩︎
- Types of agroforestry: forest belt to protect fields, wood pastures, arable land and trees, scattered fruit tree meadows, forest fallow. ↩︎
About the author: Erik Paxian, wildlife management engineer, soil science engineer, golden wheat ear farmer. He specialised in permaculture, garden and agro-environmental systems, sustainability, water management, medicinal herb cultivation.
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