What are the factors that have affected the soil fertility?

What are the factors that have affected the soil fertility?

The factors affecting the fertility of soil are as follows:

  • i. Parent Materials:
  • ii. Climate and Vegetation:
  • iii. Topography:
  • iv. Inherent Capacity of Soil to Supply Plant Nutrients:
  • v. Physical Condition of Soil:
  • vi. Soil Age:
  • vii. Micro-Organism and Soil Fertility:
  • viii. Availability of Plant Nutrients:

How can soil fertility be restored?

Soil fertility can be further improved by incorporating cover crops that add organic matter to the soil, which leads to improved soil structure and promotes a healthy, fertile soil; by using green manure or growing legumes to fix nitrogen from the air through the process of biological nitrogen fixation; by micro-dose …

What can happen to soil if plants are removed?

Erosion removes the topsoil first. Once this nutrient-rich layer is gone, few plants will grow in the soil again. Without soil and plants the land becomes desertlike and unable to support life.

How does soil reaction affect soil fertility?

Effects. Soil pH affects the amount of nutrients and chemicals that are soluble in soil water, and therefore the amount of nutrients available to plants. Some nutrients are more available under acid conditions while others are more available under alkaline conditions.

Can soil be too fertile?

One can have too much of a good thing. Some organic matter, especially manure, is relatively high in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. This can imbalance the nutrient balance ratio of the soil, which can cause problems with your plants.

How does soil erosion affects soil fertility?

Yes, soil erosion removes the fertile top layer of the soil thereby, exposing the hard rocky lower layers which are less fertile. The soil needs to be deep enough for roots to grow and water to be retained in it. Weak root growth or water that evaporates too quickly will result in plants that don’t thrive.

Is soil becoming less fertile?

These nutrients are routinely measured in agricultural soils and these results suggest that soil fertility is not declining.

Why is soil fertility decreasing?

Soil depletion In agriculture, depletion can be due to excessively intense cultivation and inadequate soil management. Soil fertility can be severely challenged when land-use changes rapidly. The depletion of soil has affected the state of plant life and crops in agriculture in many countries.