Transcript Are you sinking…? or Are you thinking…? Biodiverse Farming and Soil Management Bennie Diedericks Agricultural land use and biodiversity conservation have been traditionally viewed as incompatible.

Are you sinking…?
or
Are you thinking…?
Biodiverse Farming and Soil Management
Bennie Diedericks
Agricultural land use and biodiversity
conservation have been traditionally
viewed as incompatible. Ecologists and
conservationists often focus on pristine
or little intervened habitats to save the
last remnants of wild nature. Such
conservation focus is of limited value.
In the last decade there has been a shift
in focus to interdisciplinary studies of
human-influenced ecosystems in the
context of socially and economically
sustainable agriculture.
Intensified land use in agriculture
and forestry is irrefutably the main
cause of global change and
biodiversity loss.
Half of the plant species lost from
pastures in Germany since WW2.
Yield of cereals tripled since 1960,
but is responsible for 30 % of the
decline in European bird
populations.
25 – 75 % reduction in nutrient
values of food in the last 50 years.
ORGANIC (Living)
5%
AIR
25%
WATER
25%
WATER
MINERAL
AIR
ORGANIC (Living)
CLIMATE
MINERAL
45%
Farming Activities
Shortening crop rotation cycles
Decreasing crop diversity
Increasing input of mineral fertilizers
Increasing input of pesticides
Implementation of genetically modified (GM)
crops
Deep ploughing, not minimum tillage
Cultivating monocultures of high-yield varieties
Increasing size of arable fields
Machine-driven farming
Lowering water table by drainage
Landscape Implications
Farmers specializing on one or few crops instead of mixed farming
Converting natural vegetation to arable fields and blocks
Destroying edge habitats (field boundaries, buffer zones along rivers)
Reallocating land to increase field size and make farms more
compact.
Simplifying landscapes with a spatially and temporally limited
number of land-use types increasing landscape homogeneity
Giving up traditional, low-intensity land-use management
Avoiding set-aside fallows and cultivating formerly abandoned area
(old fields)
Reducing resistance to invasion of introduced species
Lowering landscape-wide water tables
Fragmenting natural habitat
Soil fertility is measured by:
Microbe count – under attack
from pesticides and fertilizers
Plant health – healthy plants
do not attract insects or
disease
Plants are the vechiles to
transport minerals and
nutrients from the soil to
animals and people
Plant derived minerals are 98%
bio-available
Plants can not make minerals
Measure the efficiency of your
fertilization program against
the amount of chemical inputs
required as leaf and soil
applications. The more the
inputs, the less efficient.
Chemicals treat symptoms, it
does not solve problems
1g of healthy soil contain:
More bacteria than there are
people on earth
60 000 m of fungi hyphae
100-1000’s protozoa
5-500 nematodes
100-1000’s micro arthropods
Components of soil care /
fertilization program
Chemical
Biological
Physical
Irrigation
Management
Produce nutrition food. Forget
pure organics, just nutritionally
balanced, chemical free food
The physical and cultural
development of people depend
on the soil
Demands on producers/farmers
driven by:
-EU Environmental Directives
-Corporate Social Responsibility
-Agricultural Standards
A successful business is no longer
just profitable, but is also able to
predict and meet customer
expectations and deliver social,
economic and environmental wellbeing.
Retailers do not consider that
customers will pay more for products
with an ‘environmental’ lable. Value
to the producer therefore must come
from being able to obtain contracts
and make sales to the retailer.
Environment 2010: Our Future, Our Choice:
- Climate change
- Nature and Biodiversity
- Environment, Health and Quality of Life
- Natural Resources and Waste
Conclusion: A Case Study
Location
Soil
Market
Product and Marketing
Pristine Renosterveld
Natural drainage
Wetland
Wheat Fields
Existing Vineyards
Eco corridors
Eco islands
Soil survey indicating
soil potential
Low potential soils
Future Vineyards
Rehabilitated Veld
Herbs
Grazing Camps
Olive Ochards
Picnic
Are yo
Are you sinking or thinking…?
Are you sinking or thinking…?
Areas identified for
rehabilitation
Dams