Natural resources
Natural resources such as soil, water and air are crucial for agriculture and high-priority areas in terms of environmental protection.
Soil plays a critical role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem and in producing quality agricultural products. It is a basic, limited resource which is essential for many human activities. The biological, physical and chemical characteristics need to be protected, so it can perform a filtering and buffering action to protect water and the food chain from potential pollutants. Its functions include the support of ecological habitats, the regulation of water flow and the storage of organic matter and nutrients. Threats to soil, such as erosion, pollution and compaction from intensive farming methods, can reduce the sustainability of agricultural systems. Protecting soils is the responsibility of all farmers and this in turn helps to protect other parts of the environment and ultimately leads to long term sustainability of an important natural resource.
In practice
Soil testing
Alquelve da Branca Tomato Farm, Portugal
Soil testing for nutrients is an extremely important factor in environmental protection and in maximising potential returns for the farmer from the crop. This good practice significantly reduces the risk of applying more nutrients than the plant can use, which could possibly then leach into the natural environment. Soil pH levels are also monitored, with optimum readings of around 6.5 required to achieve the best possible growing conditions.
Go to case study »Tomatoes – Alqueive da Branca, Portugal
Water is a precious resource and is in short supply in specific areas across Europe. Minimisation of water used for irrigation by means of more efficient delivery is essential for farming to remain sustainable in these regions. Water pollution is also a key issue that the agricultural community is helping to manage.
In practice
Efficient irrigation
Primaflor Lettuce Farm, Spain
Water is a precious resource in this growing region and also contributes around 20% to the cost of production. To ensure that irrigation is undertaken in the most efficient approach the farm has integral soil moisture meters within the growing crop to monitor soil moisture levels. These have sensors which monitor moisture levels every five minutes, and the data is sent via Wi-Fi to a nearby computer system. The computer software charts the moisture levels and also records the amount of water applied via the irrigation system and gathers data from the weather station. All these figures are then assessed by the farms technician who can adjust irrigation amounts from the pre-determined target levels. Any rise in moisture levels recorded at the sensor placed at 50cm deep shows that the crop has been over irrigated and the technician will reduce the subsequent applications of water to address this. At 50cm the water has moved out of the plant’s root zone and is therefore unavailable for its use.
Go to case study »Lettuce – Primaflor Farm, Spain
Clean air is crucial to the health of humans, animals and other living organisms. Contamination of air with fine particles and gases is hazardous to the health of humans and other living organisms. The main agricultural air pollutant is ammonia, which is derived from animal manures and slurry and is associated with soil acidification and eutrophication (methane and nitrous oxide gases are covered in GHG emissions). Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are also produced from the combustion of fossil fuels.