Soil Quality in Vegetable and Small Fruit Production

Bulletin 898

Why Soil Quality Is Important, Especially in Agriculture

Soil cycles nutrients.

Soil is a fundamental natural resource with which agriculture meets basic human needs. Soil also supports natural ecosystems as it cycles water and chemical elements, including carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, through the biosphere. Soil, air, and water quality contribute equally to the health of our environment. Indeed, appreciation for the diverse functions that soils perform in watersheds and ecosystems continues to grow.

Our recognition that soils, in both agricultural and natural landscapes, are diverse living systems has fueled curiosity about how to measure and manage soil quality, especially its biological components and its role in agricultural production. The fact that it takes hundreds of years for each inch of topsoil to form makes soil preservation a serious issue for everyone, especially in this era of great public concern about the environment and depletion of natural resources.

Soil quality is everyone's concern, but for those who farm, soil

Soil regulates water flow.

quality is essential. In fact, growers may have only two true resources—their know-how and good quality soil. Lacking either jeopardizes the farm's success. Farmers have many opportunities to increase their know-how, but repairing severely degraded soil may be impossible—it is certainly difficult, time-consuming, and costly. Successful farmers recognize that preservation of healthy, high-quality soils is essential to profitable and sustainable crop production.

Soils can provide the physical support, nutrients, water, and gas exchange necessary for crop growth. Soils are also home to many organisms, large and small, which directly or indirectly impact crop growth. Physical, chemical, and biological soil factors determine the need for various inputs, such as water, fertilizer, and pesticides.

The Dust Bowl phenomenon of the 1930s forced the emigration of thousands and is a striking example of soil degradation due to environmental factors (drought) compounded by soil mismanagement. Erosion removed topsoil and severely reduced soil quality on millions of acres of farmland.