Senior Research Paper: Recent Developments in Soil Health - California

This report explores recent research and developments in soil health, particularly in California's agricultural sector. It highlights the critical role of soil health in food production and the challenges faced by California's soils, including erosion, nitrogen pollution, and salination. The report discusses the Healthy Soils Initiative and other measures aimed at improving soil quality and ensuring sustainable agriculture. It also addresses the future of agriculture in California, considering factors such as increasing demand, technological advancements, climate change, and water scarcity. The report emphasizes the importance of adopting best practices for soil management, including soil armor, minimizing disturbance, plant diversity, and livestock integration, to enhance crop yields, reduce soil erosion, and promote nutrient cycling. Furthermore, it advocates for a comprehensive soil conservation program with dedicated resources and regulatory mechanisms to protect soil as a valuable resource, ensuring long-term agricultural sustainability and food security in California.

Senior Research Paper

Contents
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.......................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Soil health can be defined as a state of soil meeting the range of ecosystem functions
that are appropriate to its environment (Clay and et.al., 2020). It can be said that the
appropriate soil health can arise from the favourable interactions between the different
components of the soil such as microbiota, plants and animals. Soil health can is an important
for the production of healthy food. This is because a good and healthy soil provides all the
essential nutrients for the overall development of plants for the production of food. These
include water as well as oxygen and hence, support the roots. It can be said that a healthy soil
forms the basis of an effective agriculture and helps the plants to grow effectively. The
respective report includes a discussion on the recent research and development conducted
toward soil health recently in US mainly California.
MAIN BODY
Soil health is considered to be one of the most important factors for the overall growth
of the food. The characteristics of healthy soil include good drainage and sufficient depth for
crop growth and sufficient exchange of nutrient supply (Garg and Paliwal, 2020). Soil that is
healthy, rich of nutrients is not just important for the overall sustainability of the global
agriculture, but also for the farmers to grow crops that are nutritious and keep humans
healthy. Farmers in California, United States have realized that there are not only various
environmental benefits in enhancing and improving the soil health, but also this helps in
improving the overall profitability of their operations. This is achieved by higher yields as
well as retaining more water in the soil profile, so that there is an improvement in the overall
resilience towards drought. As far as California, United States is concerned, there are
different measures that have been taken for improving the overall soil health and ensure an
improved yield of the crops. The understanding among the farmers about improving the
overall health of the soil.
Agricultural production has long served as a proxy for soil fitness, however it's miles
an erroneous proxy. Because top soil takes loads of years to form, and erodes quicker than the
lifespan of civilizations but slower than the human lifespan, it is not the maximum on the spot
limiting thing upon agriculture nor the most visible. This is specially proper in California, in
which a fluctuating water deliver dictates what and what kind of farmers can develop. Indeed,
California’s soils face many demanding situations. Soil erosion detrimentally impacts a few
8.Eight million acres in California. Nitrogen fertilizer, the tech-restore to boost crop

productiveness and develop meals in dangerous soils, creates extra nitrogen in the soil, which
leaches into the State’s waters, polluting them. About 419,000 lots of nitrogen leach into
California’s groundwater every yr, 88% of it from agricultural resources. Most of that
nitrogen accumulates there, and will continue to be there for millennia (King ad et.al., 2020).
The nitrogen problem, like maximum troubles, affects terrible people first. Groundwater in
Tulare Lake Basin and Salinas Valley frequently exceeds nation and federal requirements for
nitrate levels in ingesting water. The more or less two hundred,000 folks that depend upon
that water are consequently rather vulnerable to nitrate exposure from their drinking water.
One of the main challenges that the soil in California faces from an agricultural
perspective is that the soil can turn saline. More than one and a half of the irrigated cropland
is low and is saline. The areas that are mainly affected by this include the Imperial Valley and
the Western San Joaquin Valley. An article about the study from the University of California
showed that if salination of the soil continues like this until the year 2030, it will impact the
overall soil health and quality. Apart from this, the study also stated that more than 80,000
hectares of irrigated lands are not used for the purpose of irrigation (Soil Conservation in
California: An analysis of the Healthy Soils Initiative, 2021).
The farmers, government of California as well as the citizens who are informed are
well aware of the demanding situations. This is because the quality of soil is impacted and
this is further impacting the yield of food. Almost all of the country is primarily trying its best
to deal with the degradation of soil and ensure that there is an improvement in the overall
quality as well as health of the soil. This will not only be beneficial for the farmers, but the
people living in the United States, mainly California as well (Lal, 2020). Although there are
different sources that are available with California such as water, soil as well as other
nutrients, but there is a significant need to work on improving the overall quality of the soil.
This ensures that the food yield is done in an effective manner. Healthy soil ensures that the
crops have the required nutrients in an effective manner and also, soil degradation can be
eliminated. The California Legislature passed a Healthy Soils Initiative, that was mainly
focussed on improving the overall quality of the soil. The initiative is more focussed towards
the conservation of soil and its various nutrients. This will not only ensure that there is an
increase in the yield, but also make sure that the process of irrigation is carried out in an
effective manner.

As far as the future is concerned, the overall demand for vegetables, fruits, fish as
well as meat is going to increase. Apart from this, there is also going to be an increase in the
cultivation of high value greens, advancements in technology as well as its improvements.
The future will not only bring an increase in the overall demand for agriculture, there will
also be a lot of innovations in this sector. The cost of labour for agriculture is going to
increase and there will be a significant need for innovation and its implementation to ensure
that the agricultural practices are conducted in an effective manner (Parsons and et.al., 2020).
The need for water for the purpose of irrigation is also going to increase and this will ensure
that the crops are irrigated in an effective manner.it has been estimated that there is going to
be a change in the overall climate across the world. This will drive changes in the production
of costs in California as well as other parts of the United States. there will also be a shift in
the locations where different crops grow in the next 20 years which will further lead to an
increase in the overall competition that is faced by the farms in California.
The pace with which research and development in the agricultural sector is
progressing, there is surely going to be a change in the way new innovations will be
implemented. The agriculture sector is going to increase and it is important for the farmers to
adopt and implement the different measures so as to increase the overall output for the crops
and ensure that them citizens of the United States, especially California have access to quality
food items (Shamir and et.al., 2020). Soil is very important for the overall agriculture process
as it ensures that the growth as well as development of the sector is done in an effective
manner. This is also because soil forms the basis of food production. Soil that is healthy
forms a basis for the production of food in an effective manner. Sustainable agriculture
ensure that the crop production is carried out in an effective manner so that the people are
able to live healthier lives in an effective manner. Therefore, it can be said that it is important
to implement various measures that will allow the crop production process to be carried out
effectively. It can be said that soil health is important to plants because it ensures that the
crop is produced in an effective manner. Apart from this, this also ensures that more crops in
the future will be grown in an effective manner.
The soil health can say to be associated with five principles such as soil armour,
minimizing soil disturbance, plant diversity, continual live plant/root, and livestock
integration. It is important to maintain the overall health of the soil so that there is an increase
in the food yield and that the crop production is carried out in an effective manner. this helps
in reducing soil erosion and hence, maximize the water infiltration (Singh and Sharma, 2020).

Apart from this, it also ensures that the nutrient cycling is also improved and that this helps in
saving money, which is important. Thus, best practices should be implemented to ensure that
the health of the soil is maintained at all times. This also provides a diversity in the plants and
hence, support a greater biological diversity within the agricultural sector. Therefore, it can
be stated that agriculture ensure that the overall irrigation is conducted in an effective
manner. fertilizers should be added to improve the health as well as quality of the soil. As a
result, there is a better yield and the crops that are produced, are also healthy. Thus, it can be
stated that the soil health is important for the overall effective production of the crops. This
will ensure that the overall process is carried out effectively.
Until now, supportive water polices have allowed farmers access to considerable
water, but increasing city and environmental demands are placing extra strain on restricted
supplies. In addition, different regulations have basically not noted agriculture’s potential to
deal with weather change through soil carbon sequestration and discount of nitrous oxide
emissions from greater efficient fertilizer and water use practices. The confluence of those
shifts in farming considerations presents a super economic and environmental possibility for
farmers to adopt more efficient water control practices. In addition, constructing soil natural
depend via carbon sequestration enhances soil pleasant and has an extended-time period
wonderful effect on crop production.
Although the Healthy Soils Initiative is an exciting step towards understanding the
capability advantages of soil in California, it is not sufficient to recognise wholesome soils in
by means of itself. Additional answers are vital, and in the long run, a complete soil
conservation program is necessary to manipulate soil in a way that promotes and sustains the
integrity of soil pleasant inside the country (Toffey and Brown, 2020). Currently, soil is
managed through a set of packages and fragmented environmental legal guidelines. But soil
merits to be dealt with like the beneficial useful resource that it is. A complete soil
management program might have what different sources like air and water have, specifically:
an company dedicated to soil control and a statute defensive a baseline of soil first-class. Like
the alternative principal assets, soil need to no longer need to rely handiest upon voluntary
and incentive-primarily based measures. Rather, like each water and air, there should be a
mix of incentive and regulatory mechanisms to guard soil as a aid. Moreover, soil ought to be
protected for its very own sake, now not as a means to boom crop productiveness or as a
means to sequester carbon, even though both the ones’ goals are vital.

As per the article, “What is the California state soil?”, the San Joaquin is the authentic
state soil of California. Let’s explore how the San Joaquin is critical to California and even
the whole international. The gross fee of agricultural production in the San Joaquin Valley of
California passed 39 billion greenbacks in 2014. San Joaquin soils occupy a spot along the
east side of the San Joaquin and lower Sacramento Valleys. They are a small however
essential a part of this large California agricultural base. San Joaquin soil is not the fine soil
for production of plants (Valani, Vezzani and Cavalieri-Polizeli, 2020). However, with
proper management, this soil has produced many billions of dollars of agricultural wealth for
the kingdom’s economy. In popular, maximum soils may be used for agriculture,
engineering, ecology, activity and extra. Originally, this soil was used for farm animals
grazing and wildlife habitat. San Joaquin soils these days additionally guide boom of a
plentiful form of irrigated crops inclusive of almonds, pistachios, figs, grapes, oranges and
wheat. Knowledge of the San Joaquin soil’s homes and characteristics has end up more and
more crucial in suburban and concrete improvement. Population facilities which include the
city of Fresno have expanded into areas of San Joaquin soil. San Joaquin may additionally
pose engineering problems for residence construction (Vidyarthi and Simmons, 2020).
Billions of organisms inhabit the higher layers of the soil, in which they spoil down dead
organic count number; predators hunt and devour prey; and some spend handiest part of their
lifecycle in the soil, freeing the nutrients necessary for plant boom. Soil microorganisms
encompass bacteria, actinomycetes, algae, and fungi. Larger soil inhabitants are called
macro-organisms and encompass earthworms and arthropods such as bugs, mites, and
millipedes. When the ecosystem is wholesome and functioning, every sort of organism
performs a function within the soil ecosystem, suppressing ailment and supporting the
increase of healthy flora. A soil test will determine the current fertility and health of ther soil.
By measuring the organic, chemical, and bodily homes of the soil, severa factors can be taken
into consideration together that permit a extra holistic evaluation of nutrient deficiencies and
the fame of the soil. Simply positioned, a soil check affords the with statistics necessary for
retaining greatest soil fertility. A soil test is crucial for several reasons: to optimize crop
production, to guard the surroundings from infection through runoff and leaching of excess
fertilizers, to useful resource within the prognosis of plant lifestyle issues, to improve the
dietary stability of the developing media, and to store money and conserve power by way of
making use of most effective the amount of amendments and dietary supplements like
fertilizers which can be genuinely needed. California is an agricultural powerhouse in large

element due to its fertile soils (Yuan and et.al., 2020). But historic agricultural practices have
depleted their natural carbon content and faded their water maintaining potential. When soil’s
carbon is restored through regenerative agriculture, it absorbs and retains extra water, restores
aquifers, draws down and shops greater carbon from the atmosphere, sustains biodiversity,
yields greater and more healthy crops, and increases farm profitability.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that soil health is important and can help
in improving the overall health of the soil. As far as California, United States is concerned,
there are different measures that have been taken in order to enhance the overall yield of the
crops. It can be said that the soil health in California is a mixture of weathered rock, plant
residues as well as volcanic ash, it can be said that it is more like clay and sandy. There are
manky initiatives that are taken by the government as well as the agricultural organizations in
order to improve or enhance the overall quality of the soil in the state. This is important
because it will not only ensure that the agricultural activities are carried out effectively, but
also the crop yield will be effective.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Clay, L. and et.al., 2020. The Perceived Benefits, Challenges, and Environmental Effects of
Cover Crop Implementation in South Carolina. Agriculture, 10(9), p.372.
Garg, S. and Paliwal, R., 2020. Green technologies for restoration of damaged ecosystem.
In Soil Health Restoration and Management (pp. 357-380). Springer, Singapore.
King, A.E. ad et.al., 2020. Crop rotations differ in soil carbon stabilization efficiency, but the
response to quality of structural plant inputs is ambiguous. Plant and Soil, 457(1),
pp.207-224.
Lal, R., 2020. Soil organic matter and water retention. Agronomy Journal, 112(5), pp.3265-
3277.
Parsons, L.S. and et.al., 2020. Soil microbial communities in restored and unrestored coastal
dune ecosystems in California. Restoration Ecology, 28, pp.S311-S321.
Shamir, E. and et.al., 2020. Snowpack‐and Soil Water Content‐Related Hydrologic Indices
and Their Association With Radial Growth of Conifers in the Sierra Nevada,
California. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 125(1),
p.e2019JG005331.
Singh, S. and Sharma, S., 2020. Temporal changes in rhizosphere biological soil quality
indicators of wheat in response to nitrogen and straw incorporation. Tropical
Ecology, 61(3), pp.328-344.
Toffey, W. and Brown, S., 2020. Biosolids and ecosystem services: Making the connection
explicit. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, 14, pp.51-55.
Valani, G.P., Vezzani, F.M. and Cavalieri-Polizeli, K.M.V., 2020. Soil quality: Evaluation of
on-farm assessments in relation to analytical index. Soil and Tillage Research, 198,
p.104565.
Vidyarthi, S.K. and Simmons, C.W., 2020. Characterization and management strategies for
process discharge streams in California industrial tomato processing. Science of The
Total Environment, 723, p.137976.
Yuan, J. and et.al., 2020. Predicting disease occurrence with high accuracy based on soil
macroecological patterns of Fusarium wilt. The ISME Journal, 14(12), pp.2936-
2950.
Online
Soil Conservation in California: An analysis of the Healthy Soils Initiative. 2021. [Online].
Available through:< https://www.nyuelj.org/2018/02/soil-conservation-in-california-
an-analysis-of-the-healthy-soils-initiative/>.