21st January
One of the issues with the loss of a sustainable balance in land use (as highlighted by transgressing this planetary boundary) is the loss of soil fertility – and in some cases the loss of the soil itself, being washed or blown away. One solution is to restore the fertility and structure of the soil of the soil and to adopt farming methods that healthy soil. Regenerative farming is a widely used term to describe this process. This is a broad term and can mean many things in different situations. Unlike organic farming, it doesn’t come with any form of certification. Nevertheless, any methods that improve soil fertility are to be encouraged.
Generally regenerative farming will encompass some or all of the following principles:-
- limiting soil disturbance
- maintaining soil cover
- fostering agricultural diversity and rotations
- keeping living roots in the soil
- integrating livestock and arable systems (1)
What regenerative farming does not address is altering the balance of land use to one that is more sustainable – and which as outlined in the previous entry – should include restoring tree cover, as well as restoring peatlands.
The Green Tau 