Podcast Interview Answer #3: Why the Top 3 Inches in Topsoil Are the Most Important Gift for Life on Earth?
“Everything is connected to everything else. Everything must
go somewhere. Nature knows best. There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you
don't put something in the ecology, it's not there.” Barry Commoner: The Closing Circle, Making Peace with the Planet
No trick question: You have a choice between a box of fertile
topsoil and a bag of gold coins. What would you choose? Maybe you’ll change your
mind after reading this answer.
First, look at the Big Picture and see two main facts as
clearly as possible:
- Only 4-12 inches (10-30 centimetres) of soil that contains humus is found on the Earth’s upper crust. This thin layer of earth is all that exists to provide nutrition to all human life. It can be said that human destiny is dependent on these 12 inches.
- Humus formation is a biological process of the ecosystem where the energy flow starts with the sun through photosynthesis to help plants make food that is consumed by animals. The last stage is decomposition of organic waste matter in order to release carbon back to the air and convert dead biomass back into mineral nutrients like nitrogen compounds, phosphorus, sulfur, calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
Humus is often associated with beginning leaf litter around trees. Its formation can be called an “organic pre-digestion” for plants; providing a pantry
of living nutrients to be absorbed by plants for continued growth with
sufficient water and sun.
Amazingly, nature’s
infinite organization provides order here, too. The metabolism of dead and
living material has its own food cycle web. It starts with microorganisms
like bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes. It is followed by macro-organisms like springtails, mites, millipedes, daddy long legs, woodlice, earthworms, snails and slugs.
There are many irreplaceable functions of good humus.
(Please note it is impossible to duplicate the process with any man-made fertilizers).
- Maintains crumbly soil structure
- Regulates water retention
- Recirculates oxygen and accumulates carbon
- Decomposes organic matter into mineral elements
- Suppresses pests, parasites and diseases
- Controls plant growth
- Recycles nutrients for plant roots, microorganisms, bacteria, fungi and litter-feeding insects (larvae, crickets, ants, termites)
In basic terms, topsoil formation is the movement of living
material from the waste material of living things into plants, to return to the
living material into Mother Earth.
As living matter, you may well ask how can we manage and protect, not deplete humus?
In fact, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture
Organization, a third of the world’s soil is now moderately to highly degraded.
There are four main reasons why humus may be depleted in our
soils:
- Over use of chemical fertilizers which are generally harsh salts that can oxidize living carbon-based matter
- Mechanized rough tillage of soil upsets fragile soil structure
- Failure to protect microbes... misunderstanding their importance. Microbe life can be nurtured by using cover crops and feeding them with fish emulsions
- Failure to build organic matter after using chemical fertilizers. Important to add various crop covers to maintain organic matter in the soil for abundant micro-life and strengthen vigorous roots.
In summary, humus is natural decay when leaves and other
plants material are decomposed by soil microorganisms into the most basic
chemical elements and nutrients that depend on soil for life, such as plants.
We must never take soil and humus for granted and preserve
its creation by life, out of life, for life.
The more you learn about nature's infinite bio-systems, the
more impressed you must be that Nature is a dynamic living system where soil,
water and energy; plants, animals and people are part of a complex web of
relationships and networks, interconnected and interdependent.
Just think, a box of dirt will at least grow some food ... a bag of gold is useless if there is no food.
Check out other podcast questions and answers
Questions and comments are always welcome.
Annemarie
amarie10@gmail.com
1 833 471 4661 (please note best time to call back)
https://helpfulmindstreamforchanges.com
"Soonday’s smile widened like a rippled puddle. Birchum, you
should be proud. You have made a real actual humus garden here. You have a host
of bacteria, fungi and protozoa partially eating and softening the leaves so
that a crew of mites, sow bugs, silverfish and more insects can continue to
digest and release the minerals. Along with water, these nutrients are taken in
by your tree’s roots and then carried up to become part of your trunk,
branches, twigs, buds and leaves … you are part of this total picture … be
proud.” Excerpt from Ecological Succession of Birchum Birch
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