How do you prevent soil exhaustion?

Answer 1

Soil exhaustion can be prevented in a number of ways. Commercial farms often reapply commercial fertilizers every year, but this can be expensive and damaging to the environment. Natural compost from animal waste can be added which is a more natural way to prevent soil exhaustion, but they too can damage the environment from water run off. A better way to prevent soil exhaustion is to rotate crops. Some crops such as corn exhaust soil quickly while others such as beans actually take nitrogen from the atmosphere and replenish the soil. Cover crops can also help prevent soil exhaustion by protecting soil from erosion. Finally, soil exhaustion can be prevented by not stripping land of indigenous plants. Rain forests that are removed often create soil exhaustion because the soil is not longer being fed by the cycle of falling leaves from the rain forest's canopy. Soil amendment, crop rotation, cover crops and keeping original species are the best ways to prevent soil exhaustion.