An acre of healthy soil can include as many as 2 tons of worms, and another 2 tons of bacteria, fungi and other soil organisms. They are constantly on the move searching for food, eating and execreting. In all of these activities they are moving food around for themselves, for other soil life, and food for plants. Worms turn over as much as 25 tons of soil per acre per year, or the equivalent of one inch of topsoil over the Earth's land surface every ten years. This photo is of worm composted soil at an organic farm in Costa Rica.
As stated in the UN Convention for Biological Diversity, "These services are not only essential to the functioning of natural ecosystems but constitute an important resource for the sustainable management of agricultural systems."
You can build the health of your own soil in your back yard by starting to compost. Begin by pruchasing a compost spinner. I got mine from the Gaiam Online Catalog. Instead of throwing away your kitchen waste, you can throw it in the spinner and eventually spread it back into your yard.
A good beginners guide that I would recommend, to get more information on composting and other ways you can help the health of the soil in your yard is Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture.
In contrast, pesticide use causes of land and soil degradation. According to a 2002 UN Environmental Program report on Land in North America, the continent is the world's largest user of pesticides accounting for 36% of the world's total use. About 5-10% of this is for use on home lawns. Not only do these products kill the soil organisms but they have an accumulating when they make it into the food chain.
Ultimately it is a value choice that you make to support your own health, the health of the land that you own, and our farmers who are taking steps to preserve the health of agricultural lands.
Simple steps:
- Buy organic products for your own health and to support organic farmers who are caretakers of a large portion of our land
- Eliminate the use of pesticides on your property
- Start composting
- Campaign for reducing pesticide use in your community (schools, parks, businesses), state and country
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