Do we need to work the soil? | Collective

Soil management is one of the major levers for designing cropping systems adapted to the new challenges of agriculture. Agronomic results, cost control, energy and environmental performance, impacts on greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage, as well as biodiversity preservation, partly depend on soil management. A scarce resource, soil is considered by some as a production support and by others as a living environment to be preserved at all costs. These two perspectives lead to different, sometimes opposing, choices in soil management. In order to support these viewpoints or even arbitrate between them, this book provides information on the impacts of soil management practices (plowing, shallow tillage, strip tillage, no-till seeding) on soil conditions and their evolution, as well as the consequences for the surrounding environment. This book highlights the most recent research on this subject. It has been written by a group of experts, scientists, and practitioners working on improving or designing soil management techniques for cropping systems aiming for multiperformance. The introduction emphasizes the importance of soil management and the diversity of techniques. It then describes the effects of these techniques on crop establishment, soil structure, nitrogen flows, carbon storage, biological activity, as well as weed control and pesticide transfers. Furthermore, it presents innovations, particularly two emerging techniques, strip tillage and no-till seeding under vegetative cover. Finally, a systemic analysis of the effects of soil management on the performance of cropping systems is developed based on data from long-term trials. This book is particularly aimed at agriculture professionals, decision-makers, students, and teachers in agronomy.