Abstract
All over the world, agriculture is threatened by degraded soils. Stripped of carbon from intensive farming, soils erode more easily, host fewer microbes and hold less water and nutrients. Fertilisers and pesticides applied to improve crop yields can leach beneath the soil and pollute the surrounding environment.
Soil degradation is a particularly big problem in China, where enormous pressure on natural resources from industrial-scale farming is accelerating the rate of soil erosion.
Soil degradation is a particularly big problem in China, where enormous pressure on natural resources from industrial-scale farming is accelerating the rate of soil erosion.
Original language | English |
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Specialist publication | The Conversation |
Publisher | The Conversation UK |
Publication status | Published - 3 Sept 2021 |
Keywords
- Agriculture
- Soil
- China
- Farming
- Soil erosion
- Soil degradation
- fertilisers
- Nitrogen fertiliser