Irrigation consumes three quarters of globalwater withdrawals each year. Strategies are needed toreduce irrigationwater use, including increasingtheefficiency of transfer methods and field application.Comprehensive re...Irrigation consumes three quarters of globalwater withdrawals each year. Strategies are needed toreduce irrigationwater use, including increasingtheefficiency of transfer methods and field application.Comprehensive restoration of soil health, specificallythrough organic matter amendments, can substantiallyreduce irrigation demand and increase crop yield. Aprogram to restore severely degraded and desertified soilsby incorporating coarse woodchips into the soil success-fully increased rainfall capture and elevated soil moisturefor several weeks between rainfall events at both Ningxia,north-west China and North Dakota, USA. With additionof fertilizer, woodchip incorporation further increasedgrowth of wheat and alfalfa. Comprehensive soil healthassessment of remnant grasslands was used to developtarget reference soil profiles by which to guide restorationefforts. Given that most agricultural soils are degraded tosome degree, soil health restoration can provide a powerfulstrategy toward achieving global food and water security.展开更多
文摘Irrigation consumes three quarters of globalwater withdrawals each year. Strategies are needed toreduce irrigationwater use, including increasingtheefficiency of transfer methods and field application.Comprehensive restoration of soil health, specificallythrough organic matter amendments, can substantiallyreduce irrigation demand and increase crop yield. Aprogram to restore severely degraded and desertified soilsby incorporating coarse woodchips into the soil success-fully increased rainfall capture and elevated soil moisturefor several weeks between rainfall events at both Ningxia,north-west China and North Dakota, USA. With additionof fertilizer, woodchip incorporation further increasedgrowth of wheat and alfalfa. Comprehensive soil healthassessment of remnant grasslands was used to developtarget reference soil profiles by which to guide restorationefforts. Given that most agricultural soils are degraded tosome degree, soil health restoration can provide a powerfulstrategy toward achieving global food and water security.
