Increase Biodiversity
Image Credit: Lacey Olson for UW-Extension
Increase Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem or field. These different life forms include all of the plants, animals and microorganisms, and their secretions. (NRCS – Principles for High Functioning Soils)
Increase Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem or field. These different life forms include all of the plants, animals and microorganisms, and their secretions. (NRCS – Principles for High Functioning Soils)
Importance
Natural systems are incredibly diverse; there are over 1 billion organisms in a teaspoon of soil. This diversity supports the ecosystem, with each organism filling a specific niche. (NRCS – Soil Microorganisms)
Without biodiversity, the soil loses productivity leading to degraded soil and water quality, reduced nutrient availability, releases of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and lower crop productivity, just to name a few.
Increasing biodiversity helps:
- Cycle ecosystem nutrients
- Plants uptake nutrients and grow well
- Improve water infiltration into, and store water in, the soil
- Reduce erosion
- Suppress pests, parasites and disease
- Aid in the capture of carbon
- Assist in the world’s gas exchange cycles
- Break down organic matter
- IMPROVE SOIL HEALTH!
- (NRCS – Principles for High Functioning Soils)
This image demonstrates biodiversity in a cover crop field. Here you can see winter rye, peas, clovers, and radishes all interplanted within the same field. In addition to biodiversity above ground in the leaf structure, there is biodiversity below ground in the various root structures. The large taproots of radishes break up soil compaction, while fibrous roots, like those of winter rye help hold soil in place.
Our Farmers at Work
Our Farmers at Work
The Between the Lakes Demonstration Farm Network farmers are working to increase biodiversity in their fields.
The Between the Lakes Demonstration Farm Network farmers are working to increase biodiversity in their fields. Learn how they do this in the chart below.
To do this, they use
