1. Always keep soil covered. Use compost, mulch, plant debris or plants to protect against wind and water erosion, reduce evaporation rates, moderate temperatures, reduce compaction, suppress weeds and provide soil food web habitat.
2. Minimize soil disturbance. Keep soil structure (aggregates) intact with reduced or no-tillage to reduce loss of soil from erosion, loss of organic matter, loss of nutrients and water, to prevent water ponding, flooding and runoff, and to increase water infiltration.
3. Encourage biodiversity. Begin to mimic the natural plant community by using diverse crop rotations and cover crops benefiting the soil food web, nutrient cycling, and carbon storage.
4. Maintain continuous live plant roots. Allows for continual live plant carbon exudates from roots to feed the soil food web by using cover crops between or incorporated with seasonal crops.
5. Integrate animals. Manage crop residues, cover crops, weed pressure and recovery periods to improve the soil food web, nutrient cycling, carbon storage, and water infiltration.
Use these Principles of Soil Health in many different types of environments for restoration, conservation and agriculture to improve and regenerate the soil, water cycles and land.
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Dirty Dozen: Tips for Building Healthy Soil
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