Rehabilitating degraded and abandoned agricultural lands with Conservation Agriculture systems

Publication date: 20/01/2020
Extent: 46 pages

Contributions by: Telmo Jorge Carneiro Amado, Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil; Carlos Alexandre Costa Crusciol, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Brazil; Claudio Hideo Martins da Costa, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brazil; Otávio dos Anjos Leal, Catarinense Federal Institute, Brazil; and Luan Pierre Pott, Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil

Chapter synopsis: Soil degradation worldwide is a serious concern since global demands for food production and security and environmental preservation have increased substantially. In Brazil, intensive tillage, low soil cover and residue input, monocropping, soil organic matter depletion, erosion, compaction and subsoil acidity are the main drivers of degradation and abandonment of agricultural soils, whereas high grazing pressure, unbalanced fertilization, weeds, soil compaction and poor pasture management are the drivers in pasturelands. This chapter discusses integrated strategies under Conservation Agriculture (CA) to restore soil productivity in degraded agricultural lands by mechanical and biological decompaction and subsoil acidity alleviation in tropical and subtropical regions in Brazil. Following an introduction on the degradation of both croplands and pasturelands, the authors go on to discuss the adoption of CA as a tool to prevent and reverse soil degradation. The chapter concludes with two case studies: the first on restoration of compacted and low productive soils, and the second on soil quality improvement in acidic tropical soils.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2019.0049.14