| The paper focuses on the growing importance of soil health in agricultural science, recognizing its critical role in sustaining ecosystems, enhancing crop production, and supporting diverse biological functions. Soil health is defined by the USDA-NRCS as the ability of soil to function as a living ecosystem essential for plants, animals, and humans. This encompasses its capabilities to filter contaminants, cycle nutrients, offer physical support, and regulate water flow.
Key methods for assessing soil health involve measuring chemical, physical, and biological properties, with recent studies advocating for an integrated approach to better quantify and understand soil health dynamics. The paper underscores longstanding soil and water conservation practices like no-tillage and using cover crops to improve soil health, emphasizing their benefits, such as increased water storage, enhanced crop yields and resilience, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Importantly, the paper aims to fill a crucial knowledge gap by focusing on the impacts of soil health practices on the hydrologic cycle. It seeks to provide a detailed analysis of how these practices affect water movement within ecosystems and offer evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and decision-makers on incorporating soil health improvements into agricultural and environmental strategies. |
