Importance of Soil Health

When talking about clean water, we often must also talk about “soil health,” which is, “the continued capacity of a soil to function as a vital, living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals and humans.” (US Department of Agriculture). By managing the soil under our feet correctly, we can sustain soil quality for future generations. The best way to do this is to try and mimic a natural habitat that humans have not impacted, like a prairie. Of course, this is a big task, but there are a few key management principles we can follow:

Minimize disturbance
- When tending an agriculture field, it is often necessary to till the soil. Tilling can destroy the structure of the soil and effect the natural community of organisms that live in the soil. When the structure of the soil is compromised, water has a harder time infiltrating, causing runoff or flooding. Runoff often contains sediment or chemicals, which negatively effect our streams and lakes.

Maximize soil cover
- Keeping our soil covered with plants or plant residue is extremely important. Having something over the soil acts as protection from rain or wind. Plants and/or plant residue also allows rain water to be soaked up, rather than becoming runoff. As stated above, runoff can negatively effect streams and lakes.
- A great way to keep soil covered after harvest in the fall is to grow a cover crop. A cover crop is typically a grass species that can cover much of a field and grow quickly late in the year before the first frost.
- Another way of maximizing soil cover is to find those parts of a farm field that perhaps are unprofitable to farm; for instance, low-lying areas that are prone to flooding, or areas that have soils that simply do not produce a good yield year after year. Planting such areas to permanent natural plant cover may be an option.

Maximize biodiversity
- Ecosystems with higher biodiversity can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters, such as flooding or drought. To be able to continue to produce high yields and absorb rainfall, it is important for a soil's ecosystem to remain healthy. To do this, reducing tillage, keeping the soil covered, and using a diverse crop rotation promotes a variety of soil organisms. These organisms help balance the soil's pH, store moisture, and store nutrients. Grazing animals is another great way to promote biodiversity, for manure is spread naturally and tillage is minimal.

Maximize the presence of roots
- Roots in the ground help soil absorb moisture and provides a habitat for the organisms in the soil. Earthworms, which are valuable for adding organic matter and nutrients to the soil, can use root channels for movement in the soil.
- The presence of roots also helps stabilize the soil in times of large rain or runoff events by infiltrating more rain and producing less runoff.