Soil plays a crucial role in the health of ecosystem functions in the world. It stores, moderates, and cycles nutrients and other elements. During these processes, nutrients can transform into plant-available forms, stay in the soil, or even get lost to air or water.
Soil is also responsible for such essential functions as air quality, temperature regulation, carbon and nutrient cycling, water cycling and quality, organic waste treatment and recycling, and habitat for most living things and their food. And as you have probably guessed, without them, we wouldn’t be able to survive.
Soil quality is the most critical factor in any garden, especially if you plan to eat the resulting produce. That’s why the decrease of organic matter content in agricultural soils is a significant concern to farmers worldwide.
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how soil recycles nutrients and what you can do to help enrich your soil.
How Does Soil Recycle Nutrients?
To get to the bottom of this, we asked Casper Ohm, environmental expert and founder of Water Pollution, to tell us more about what exactly happens inside the soil:
“Humans and other organisms use soil to decompose organic waste materials into new materials to be used by other living things. In other words, soil can be considered as nature’s way of recycling.
In essence, the process of recycling through soil occurs when plants and animals die, or food waste is mixed in with soil; their nutrient content is not wasted. Bacteria and fungi decompose the remains and release the nutrients back into the abiotic environment (i.e., into the soil, nearby water, and air). These nutrients are then taken up by other plants and used to make new organic material.”
In short, the soil is the major “switching yard” for the global cycles of carbon, water, and nutrients. Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and many other nutrients are stored, transformed, and cycled through the soil.
What Is the Value of Recycling Organic Matter to Soil?
According to Agronomy for Sustainable Development, the decrease of organic matter significantly lowers soil fertility, negatively affecting agricultural crop production and several other soil properties like water retention capacity, aggregation and structure formation, soil mechanical strength, or compatibility. It means that the increase of organic waste recycling in agriculture might lead to an increase in soil organic matter contents and to changes in those soil properties.
“Recycling organic matter creates compost, which is really the hallmark of regenerative farming. Compost is naturally rich in humus and humic acids, so it serves as a pesticide without the use of harmful chemicals. The use of recycled organic matter also saturates the soil with microbes, which reduces the risk of plant nutrient deficiencies, damage, and disease. Recycled soil also stores more water, which can help to increase crop yields during periods of drought.
Regenerative agriculture involves the basic idea that soil should improve with every harvest. Because recycled or composted soil retains moisture and suppresses plant pests, it enhances the soil and reduces the need for chemical pesticides or fertilizers. Recycled soil also encourages the production of good bacteria that work to break down organic matter into humus, a material that’s rich in nutrients and greatly enhances soil quality.”
Jordan Rubin, Soil Recycling Expert and Founder of R.A.N.C.H. Project
What Are the Best Ways to Recycle Organic Waste?
Plants, animals, and industrial activities create enormous amounts of organic wastes in day-to-day life. However, a considerable part of them still remains unutilized and is either burnt or dumped nearby sites. This creates pollution, harbors pathogens for diseases, and causes severe problems of disposal. So instead of disposing of it, we can use it as a source of organic wastes and effectively recycle it for the production of compost to meet the nutritional requirement of crops. (Source)
But how can you do it? We asked Heather Yan, founder of Learn Planting, to share the best ways to recycle organic waste:
“There are lots of options to start to recycle organic waste. You can start your own compost pile or ask a neighbor if you can add your kitchen scraps to theirs. Depending on your area, you might be able to give your kitchen scraps and other organic waste (cardboard and other paper products can often be recycled this way, too!) to a local farmer for their compost and fields.
If you live in an area where you can keep chickens, pigs, or goats, they can also help recycle some of your kitchen scraps. Collect their manure and mix it into soil or compost to complete the cycle.
Lastly, some cities and trash collection areas can accept organic waste for a larger organic waste recycling process. This is largely done through industrial-sized composting, which needs to be carefully managed to produce high-quality compost and soil.”
How Can Topsoil Screeners Help Maintain Good Soil?
While topsoil screeners are an integral part of big construction and farming projects, they can also help you enrich the soil in your backyard or garden. According to Jordan Rubin and Heather Yan, here are a few benefits of using topsoil screeners you should know about:
- They can help make soil healthier by getting rid of non-organic materials such as litter, cement, and gravel.
- They can help improve the soil texture by ensuring the loose particles are made of organic matter.
- They can help prevent various debris from meddling with the root growth and nutrient absorption processes.
- They can help create a better environment for plants to thrive.
At EZ-Screen, we manufacture high-quality portable topsoil screeners that can handle everything from topsoil, gravel, aggregate, and wood chips to street sweepings. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need help choosing a screening plant for your specific landscape operation or have any questions about our products.
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