The active life of soil

Abstract

Soil is one of the most important components for the systems viability, whether for agriculture or animal production. It is known that the sustainability of a grassland ecosystem is dependent on the interaction of several factors, including the soil in terms of physical, chemical and biological processes that will facilitate the proper growth and development of plants, reflecting on animal performance. However, in current systems of animal production, little attention has been paid to this aspect, and there has been an increasing loss of soil fertility. The degradation of grazing areas alters the quality and quantity of soil organic matter (SOM). The MO has significance not only as a nutrient source in the soil, but the basic function and more importantly, is to act as a biocatalyst of soil life. The correct management of grazing animals could be improve the process of recycling nutrients, generating a favorable environment for the development of the biotic community. To get an active biocenose it is needed a good food source for soil microorganisms. One of the most efficient ways to achieve this goal is an adequate distribution of animal manure in pasture, causinga natural homogenization of the soil fertility. A better distribution of manure in the rotating system provides adequate utilization of nutrients by forage plants, reducing the demand of fertilizer use. This can be justified by the higher availability of nutrients in the pasture, which exemplifies and demonstrates the importance of nutrient recycling in the soil-plant-animal interface. Therefore, the Voisin system of rational pasture and the subdivision of pasture in paddocks, contributes to increase the natural fertility of the soil due to the use of instant high animals loads, occurring a better distribution of excrement in the pasture area over time.