Learning Journal Unit 5

1. Making soil healthy again is super important for keeping farming sustainable. The old way of
farming has made soil less good by taking away the natural stuff in it and messing up how it's
put together. That's made farmers rely more on fake stuff to help their plants grow, and it's
made the soil weaker against things like washing away in the rain and polluting the water
(Lehmann & Kleber, 2015). But, if farmers start using smart ways to make the soil better,
they can grow food sustainably without hurting nature. One big way to do this is by not
digging up the soil too much, which stops it from getting messed up and keeps it strong (Lal,
2015). When farmers don't dig too much, it helps stop the soil from washing away, keeps
water in the ground better, and lets tiny creatures in the soil do their jobs to keep it healthy
(Blanco-Canqui, 2017). Also, planting different kinds of crops and using cover plants can
help make soil better by adding more natural stuff, stopping weeds, and making the soil
richer with lots of different living things (Giller et al., 2015). These cover plants, like beans
and grasses, not only stop soil from washing away but also grab nitrogen from the air, so
farmers don't need to use as much fake stuff (Drinkwater et al., 1998). And planting
different crops at different times helps break the cycle of bugs and diseases, makes the soil
richer, and means farmers don't have to use as many chemicals (Altieri et al., 2015).
Basically, making soil healthy again by not digging too much, using cover plants, and
growing different crops is super important for farming in a way that keeps working for a long
time and doesn't hurt the environment.

2. Mixing trees and bushes with farming can really help make farming better in Lagos, Nigeria.
As the city gets bigger and messes up the land, adding trees and bushes to farms can stop the
soil from washing away, keep water in the ground, and make the soil richer (Nair, 2014).
Trees are great at stopping soil from washing away and protecting crops from the wind and
rain (Jose, 2009). And having trees around means more different kinds of plants and animals
can live there, which helps with things like making sure plants get pollinated (Torralba et
al., 2016). Plus, mixing trees with farming can help farmers make more money by growing
things like wood, fruit, and medicine alongside their normal crops (Kumar & Nair, 2011).
The fruit and nuts from trees can give people healthy food, while wood and other forest stuff
can help farmers make more money (Chazdon et al., 2017). Also, mixing trees with farming
 can help fight climate change by taking carbon dioxide out of the air, which helps stop the
world from getting too hot (Montagnini & Nair, 2004). Overall, mixing trees with farming
in Lagos, Nigeria, is a good way to farm that helps the environment, makes money for
farmers, and deals with problems like cities growing too fast and land getting worse.

3. I learned about something cool called regenerative agriculture this week. It's all about making
nature healthier while also taking carbon out of the air. Unlike regular ways of farming,
regenerative agriculture isn't just about not hurting nature but actually making it better. This
means doing things like not digging up the soil too much, planting cover crops, moving
animals around, and mixing trees with farming. These things help make soil healthier, bring
back more different plants and animals, and stop climate change from getting worse
(Paustian et al., 2016). By making soil better and bringing back lots of different living
things, regenerative agriculture makes soil richer, keeps water in the ground, and helps deal
with things like droughts and floods (Gliessman, 2015). Also, regenerative agriculture helps
nature by making homes for plants and animals and helping with things like making sure
plants get pollen to make fruit (Wezel et al., 2014). And by taking carbon dioxide out of the
air, regenerative agriculture helps slow down climate change and make the world safer for
everyone (Smith et al., 2016). Learning about regenerative agriculture makes me want to do
more stuff to help nature, like buying food from farmers who do it this way and using less
stuff that hurts the environment.

References:

 Altieri, M. A., Nicholls, C. I., & Henao, A. (2015). Agroecology and the design of
climate change-resilient farming systems. Agronomy for Sustainable Development,
35(3), 869-890.
 Blanco-Canqui, H. (2017). No-tillage and soil-profile carbon sequestration: An on-farm
assessment. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 81(6), 1382-1391.
 Chazdon, R. L., Harvey, C. A., Komar, O., Griffith, D. M., Ferguson, B. G., Martínez-
Ramos, M., ... & Morales, H. (2017). Beyond reserves: A research agenda for conserving
biodiversity in human-modified tropical landscapes. Biotropica, 49(6), 843-851.
 Drinkwater, L. E., Wagoner, P., & Sarrantonio, M. (1998). Legume-based cropping
systems have reduced carbon and nitrogen losses. Nature, 396(6708), 262-265.
 Giller, K. E., Andersson, J. A., Corbeels, M., Kirkegaard, J., Mortensen, D., & Erenstein,
O. (2015). Beyond conservation agriculture. Frontiers in Plant Science, 6, 870.
 Gliessman, S. R. (2015). Agroecology: The ecology of sustainable food systems. CRC
Press.
 Jose, S. (2009). Agroforestry for ecosystem services and environmental benefits: An
overview. Agroforestry Systems, 76(1), 1-10.
 Kumar, B. M., & Nair, P. K. (2011). The enigma of tropical homegardens. Agroforestry
Systems, 81(2), 105-111.
 Lal, R. (2015). Restoring soil quality to mitigate soil degradation. Sustainability, 7(5),
5875-5895.
 Lehmann, J., & Kleber, M. (2015). The contentious nature of soil organic matter. Nature,
528(7580), 60-68.
 Montagnini, F., & Nair, P. K. (2004). Carbon sequestration: An underexploited
environmental benefit of agroforestry systems. Agroforestry Systems, 61(1-3), 281-295.
 Nair, P. K. (2014). Handbook of agroforestry. Springer.
 Paustian, K., Lehmann, J., Ogle, S., Reay, D., Robertson, G. P., & Smith, P. (2016).
Climate-smart soils. Nature,