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BY ALEXIS KIENLEN
Paydirt
YOU MIGHT JUST THINK OF IT AS
dirt, or you might not think about it at all.
But in the agricultural industry, soil takes
on a very different meaning—as one of the
building blocks for all the life on Earth.
“In terms of a living entity, there is
more life in soil than you would see
anywhere on the planet,” said Len Kryzan-
owski, director of environmental strategy
and research with Alberta Agriculture and
Forestry. “For a farmer and for society in
general, soil is definitely the foundation
for our food system.”
Soil is a reservoir for nutrients and
water. The material contains millions of
living organisms. The micro-organisms
in the soil include fungi, bacteria, insects
and earthworms that all play vital parts in
the health of the soil and in soil processes.
For the soil to function at its best, these
organisms need to be fed and balanced.
Without the soil organisms, ordinary pro-
cesses like the decomposition of organic
matter would not occur.
Alberta has a large variety of soil con-
ditions and types across the province be-
cause of its varied climate and the parent
material from which its soils developed.
The province’s soils are fairly young, about
10,000 years old, and are influenced by
precipitation, climate and temperature,
as well as the plants that initially grew on
the soil. A climate gradient exists from the
south to the north of Alberta, displayed by
grassland soils in the south, transitioning
to wooded or forest soils in the north.
“As the plants grew, they died and re-
plenished the soil with their organic mat-
ter, so you had different types of organic
matter going into the soil, which will af-
fect the microbial and biological processes
going on there,” said Kryzanowski.
Soils across the province range in colour
and type from brown, to dark brown, to
black, to even grey soils, which are more
heavily leached of nutrients.
When it comes to soil, there is far more than meets the eye. Millions of micro-organisms live in the soil, each playing
an important role in its health.
Photo: AdrianShellard
The Food Issue
2016
Grains
West
48
HEALTHY SOIL IS A TOP PRIORITY FOR FARMERS EVERYWHERE
FARMING
101