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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Cover crops benefit everyones soil

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Dieter Brand <diebrand@yahoo.com>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Cover crops benefit everyones soil
  • Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 01:13:40 -0700 (PDT)

Paul,
 
you wrote:
 
> Forested areas in tropical climates don't build much soil organic matter.
 
They do, but humus (organic matter) is lost at a much higher rate than
in a temperate climate, 50 times faster. Hence the importance of returning
more organic matter to the soil than in a temperate climate, which is made
possible by the longer growing season in hot climates.
 
> midwest grassland prairie - now the breadbasket - had very deep topsoil and
> stable humus, tho it's been depleted by perhaps 50% since the coming of the
> plow ...
 
This proves my point exactly. Central and Northern European soils are still
in much better condition even after almost 2 centuries of deep ploughing. If
Prairie soil turns into dust after ploughing for a few decades only, this is a clear
indication that the quality of the humus produced by grassland is not of the
same quality. If the strong colloidal bonds of the humus-clay complexes in
the stable humus can last 1000 years, today’s farmers are still benefiting
from the forests that covered much of Europe during the Middle Ages.
This also explains why no-till is practically unknown in Europe. The case
for no-till is simply not as strong as it is in the US.
 
Dieter Brand
Portugal


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