Soil depletion
Of soil degradation occurs when through monoculture , the same ground constantly nutrients are removed and thus reduces the soil quality. In the worst case, this can lead to desertification .
The effects of soil impoverishment in Central Europe led to famines and waves of migration in the population until the beginning of the 19th century, until research into soil fertility and the successes of agricultural chemistry brought about significant improvements in yield security through targeted fertilization .
In addition to supplementing missing nutrients through organic and mineral fertilization, soil depletion can also be counteracted through technical measures such as crop rotation, mixed cultures, liming, humusification, green manuring and mulching.
A deliberately induced soil depletion can also be useful in over-fertilized, eutrophic soils. You can remove excess nutrients from a location and thus slow down the succession of the plant community - i.e. maintain the biodiversity of a nutrient-poor location.
When mowing a high perennial border on the edge of a litter meadow to an intensively used cultivated area with goldenrod, Solidago canadensis , and meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria as the dominant plants, the seasonal internal nutrient shift in the plants can be used to deplete the soil. With the timely cultivation measure, nitrogen and potassium will be removed from the site.
See also
swell
- Johannes Parda, 1985: Investigations on the nutrient turnover in Filipendula ulmaria in Viehlassmoos ; Diploma thesis at the Technical University of Munich