Question

How will the consultant's advice help make a change in the environment in the scenario below: A farmer has practiced burning fields after each crop season in order to get rid of the leftover crop matter, and then tilled the land before planting new crops. He recently hired a consultant to see what he could do to make more environmentally conscious choices, and the consultant advised the farmer to stop burning and tilling and instead practice zero tillage farming, using the leftover crop matter to make his own fertilizer.

Answer 1

The consultant's advice will reduce soil degradation and increase organic matter content in soil

Step-by-step explanation:

In this scenario the present practice by the farmer of burning crop residue and tilling results in soil degradation and loss of organic matter.

Burning on the farm leads to loss of crop nutrients such as nitrogen and organic matter. It also causes environmental pollution of air, land, and water when carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur by-products are released to the atmosphere.

Tillage is the practice of turning the top 6 - 12 cm of soil when preparing for planting. This practice reduces water holding capacity of soil, accelerates nutrient loss, and degrades soil structure.

So if the farmer stops burning crop residue and practices zero tillage it will result in less environmental pollution, reduce soil degradation, and increase soil nutrients especially organic matter