Responsible Fertilizer Use for Mitigating Drought

Recently, a leading Dutch newspaper NRC published an article ''Hardly has spring started and a significant portion of European land is already parched''. This article was echood by a similar article from the BBC. How can we mitigate drought? One of the answers is responsible fertilizer use.

According to the European Drought Observatory, 23.0% of the EU-27 territory is in Warning conditions and 2.2% is in Alert conditions. Therefore, regenerative agricultural practices are increasingly becoming important. One such practice involves the responsible use of fertilizers.

In this blogpost, we'll explore how the use of fertilizers impacts the water holding capacity of soil, a crucial factor in mitigating drought, and the role of regenerative agriculture.

Photo by nishihata

While synthetic fertilizers can boost crop yields, their overuse can have negative consequences on soil health and water retention.

Here are 3 reasons why synthetic fertilizers exacerbate water requirements and impact drought.

Did you know that the most inefficient form of nitrogen for plants is nitrate? It costs a lot of energy to convert it into amino acids, which are essential for growth, and requires a lot of water. For every molecule of nitrate to convert to peptide, plants need three molecules of water. However, when the soil has a robust ecosystem of soil bacteria, the bacteria can convert atmospheric nitrogen into bacterial nitrogen, which can be easily used by plants to produce amino acids. This means that the plants do not need to rely on nitrate as much, which in turn reduces their water requirement by 30% compared to when they rely on nitrate as the primary source of nitrogen.

The overuse of synthetic fertilizers may leads to a decrease in organic matter, which is crucial for water retention. Healthier soil, rich in organic matter, can hold up to 20 times its weight in water.

Excessive synthetic fertilizer application can disrupt the soil's microbial balance, reducing the overall health of the soil and its capacity to withstand drought conditions.

Organic fertilizers, derived from plant and animal sources, imrpove soilhealth and the water holding capacity:

1. Enhanced Soil Structure: Organic fertilizers improve soil structure by promoting the formation of aggregates, which in turn, enhance water holding and infiltration.

2. Increased Organic Matter Organic fertilizers contribute to the soil's organic matter content, improving its ability to hold moisture and providing a buffer against drought.

3. Improved Soil Microbial Activity: Organic fertilizers promote a diverse and healthy microbial community in the soil, which aids in nutrient cycling and enhances the soil's resilience to drought.

Regenerative agriculture offers a promising solution to the challenges of drought. By improving the water-holding capacity of soils, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers that exacerbate the impact of drought, and increasing the resilience of crops to water stress, regenerative agriculture can help build a more sustainable and resilient food system for the future.

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Do you want to know more about drought management, organic matter, regenerative agriculture and water retention? Continue reading through the resources below: