Healthy soil is an essential component of healthy natural and working lands. From forests to farms, ecosystems and habitats cannot properly function without healthy soil. The importance of this resource even extends to our own backyards, where we live and play in outdoor spaces.
But what determines if the soil is healthy exactly? At a 2023 American Farmland Trust’s Soil Health Stewards training in Vermont, NCLC staff learned that the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) defines soil health as the “continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans.” Healthy soils contain a high organic matter content, stable structure, and diverse soil food web, fostering the right balance of air, water, and nutrients. Improved soil health can promote carbon sequestration, water management, and wildlife habitat. Farmers often directly benefit through improved yield and reduced costs.
To achieve healthier soils, the NRCS recommends four key principles:
- Maximize living roots.
- Maximize soil cover.
- Maximize biodiversity.
- Minimize soil disturbance.
Examples of land management practices that improve the health of soils include reduced tillage, cover cropping, crop rotation, and rotational grazing. There are many soil-health-building practices that can be adapted by farmers, land managers, and homeowners alike.
Check out the following resources to learn more about improving the soil of the land you love.
- 12 Ways to Improve Your Soil and Landscape Health (NCLC info sheet for homeowners)
- American Farmland Trust’s Soil Health Stewards Toolkit
- University of Connecticut Soil Nutrient Analysis Laboratory (SNAL)
Also, NCLC’s Building Resiliency on Northwest Connecticut Farmland climate-smart agriculture program offers producers direct grants for the implementation of soil health practices. Our fall implementation grant round is from October 1 to November 30, 2024. Click here to learn more and apply today.