BIOGEOSYSTEMIC METHODOLOGY FOR SOIL HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVITY: A REVIEW

Abstract

The outdated principle of imitation of natural phenomena in modern nature management causes the conflict “biosphere vs. technology”, which worsens conditions for agricultural production. А scientific and technological approach “Biogeosystem Technique” is developed as a system of technical solutions and technologies for agronomy and environmental management that do not reproduce the laws of nature directly (have no direct analogies in nature). In particular, the principle of soil reclamation by milling a 20- to 45-cm illuvial horizon has been developed and tested in long-term field experiments. A new drive for the subsoil milling that has been developed provides for a 5- to 10-fold reduction in traction resistance and a two-fold increase in energy efficiency. With standard irrigation, water consumption is 4–15 times higher than the cultivated plants’ requirements for water. This disproportion causes degradation of soil hydrological regime and landscape. An intrasoil pulse continuous-discrete moistening paradigm is proposed. Nutrition for plants is provided using a relatively concentrated soil solution, and the stomatal apparatus of a plant functions in a regulation mode. This improves plant nutrition, increases plant productivity, and reduces water consumption 5–20 times. The Biogeosystem Technique approach will ensure the priority of the effects of polymicrobial communities and biofilms and improve the function of humic substances and soil organic matter. A dispersed recycling of mineral and organic wastes, including gasification product, during intrasoil milling of a layer of 20–45 (30–60) cm, which is safe for the ecosphere, is developed to optimize the circulation of nutrients. To protect plants from phytopathogens, an intrasoil pulsed continuous-discrete system for application of biological products and pesticides is developed. Biogeosystem Technique provides for a controlled co-evolution of the biosphere and the technosphere, thus reducing the phytopathogenic burden of an agrocenosis and helping to ensure the food security of the Russian Federation.