Continual Living Roots
Image Credit: Vaceslav Romanov via Adobe Stock
Continual Living Roots
Continual living roots refers to having living roots in the soil year-round. (South Dakota Soil Health Coalition)
Continual Living Roots
Continual living roots refers to having living roots in the soil year-round.
(South Dakota Soil Health Coalition)
Importance
Plants (and their living roots) are the energy source for healthy soil. Natural systems always have living roots present. These plants are harvesting sunlight, converting it into sugars and releasing exudates (chemical compounds) through their roots into the soil. These exudates increase the efficiency of nutrient transfer from the soil to plant roots.
If the soil doesn’t have a living root over winter, it will take time to redevelop these relationships in the spring, potentially slowing down transfer of needed nutrients.
Having continual living roots in the soil:
- Supports the soil lifecycle by feeding soil biology carbon through the process of photosynthesis.
- Captures Unused Nutrients – Most years there are unused nutrients in the soil. Having a living root at all times captures and ties up the nutrients in the soil, making more nutrients available for the next cash crop.
- Provides Erosion Control – Live roots and their living plants cover and hold the soil in place, protecting it from erosion.
- Assists with Weed Control – Having a living root in the soil means having a live plant aboveground. This plant can provide residue for weed control during the next cash crop.
- Offers Grazing Opportunities – Live roots mean live plants aboveground. These plants can be used for grazing livestock year-round.
- Supports the soil lifecycle by feeding soil biology carbon through the process of photosynthesis.
- Captures Unused Nutrients – Most years there are unused nutrients in the soil. Having a living root at all times captures and ties up the nutrients in the soil, making more nutrients available for the next cash crop.
- Provides Erosion Control – Live roots and their living plants cover and hold the soil in place, protecting it from erosion.
- Assists with Weed Control – Having a living root in the soil means having a live plant aboveground. This plant can provide residue for weed control during the next cash crop.
- Offers Grazing Opportunities – Live roots mean live plants aboveground. These plants can be used for grazing livestock year-round.
- Improves Infiltration– Roots break up soil compaction as they push through the soil. This helps build soil aggregates and pore spaces, which improves soil infiltration.
- IMPROVES SOIL HEALTH!
- (NRCS – Continual Live Root)
This cover crop is growing through the corn stubble of the previous harvest. Even though the cash crop’s roots are no longer growing, the cover crop roots are, providing continual living roots in this field.
Photo Credit: Matt Brugger
- Improves Infiltration– Roots break up soil compaction as they push through the soil. This helps build soil aggregates and pore spaces, which improves soil infiltration.
- IMPROVES SOIL HEALTH!
- (NRCS – Continual Live Root)
This cover crop is growing through the corn stubble of the previous harvest. Even though the cash crop’s roots are no longer growing, the cover crop roots are, providing continual living roots in this field.
Photo Credit: Matt Brugger
Our Farmers at Work
Our Farmers at Work
The Upper Fox-Wolf Demonstration Farm Network farmers are working to increase living roots in their fields.
The Upper Fox-Wolf Demonstration Farm Network farmers are working to increase living roots in their fields. Learn how they do this in the chart below.
To do this, they use
