Contrasting Agricultural Choices Based on Local Soils and Climate

1. Different regions within the same biome can support completely different agricultural systems due to variations in soil type, rainfall, temperature, drainage, water availability, and ecosystem resilience.
2. Farmers choose systems that maximise productivity while remaining economically viable within these environmental limits.

Steppe & Prairie Biomes (Mollisols): Why Some Regions Grow Cereals While Others Ranch Livestock

1. Mollisols are among the world’s most fertile soils, containing high organic matter, deep humus layers, and excellent nutrient retention.
2. Areas of the steppe with reliable rainfall support cereal crop farming, especially wheat, maize, oats, and barley.
3. Regions with lower or more unpredictable rainfall cannot sustain cereal crops, leading farmers to choose extensive cattle or sheep ranching instead.
4. Cereal farming requires consistent moisture, whereas grasses can survive periodic droughts, making ranching more climate-resilient in dry steppe zones.
5. Mechanisation, irrigation, and global grain markets push wetter areas toward highly intensive cereal monocultures.

Tropical Rainforest Biomes (Oxisols): Soya Bean Agriculture vs Cattle Ranching

1. Oxisols are highly weathered, low-nutrient, acidic tropical soils with high iron/aluminium oxides and extremely low cation exchange capacity.
2. Soya bean production becomes viable only with lime application, phosphorus additions, and synthetic fertilisers, allowing commercial-scale cropping.
3. Cattle ranching is often more suitable in nutrient-poor zones where crop cultivation is not feasible, especially in areas newly deforested.
4. Ranching initially appears profitable but rapidly degrades soil, creating pasture exhaustion and encouraging further deforestation.
5. Oxisol-based agriculture is heavily dependent on industrial inputs, making sustainability difficult.

Desert Biomes (Aridisols): Irrigated Agriculture vs Ranching

1. Aridisols are dry, saline-prone soils with minimal organic matter and low natural fertility.
2. Where irrigation water is available (e.g., Nile Valley, Arizona), farmers grow dates, cotton, vegetables, and alfalfa.
3. Evaporation leaves salts behind, causing salinisation, which is a major threat to desert agriculture.
4. In regions without irrigation, extensive nomadic or semi-nomadic ranching dominates because livestock can graze sparse vegetation.
5. Temperature extremes limit crop viability but hardy animals (camels, goats, sheep) survive under harsh conditions.

Temperate Forest Biomes (Brown Earths): A Balance of Arable & Pastoral Agriculture

1. Brown earth soils are moderately fertile, well-drained, and rich in decomposer activity, supporting both crops and pasture.
2. These soils encourage mixed farming systems, where livestock and crops contribute to each other’s nutrient cycles.
3. Crop residue, manure, and grass leys maintain soil health through natural nutrient recycling.
4. Crop–pasture rotation improves long-term soil fertility and reduces pest buildup.

Alternative Farming Approaches

Soil Regeneration

1. Soil regeneration focuses on restoring soil organic matter, microbial communities, water-holding capacity, and nutrient cycling.
2. Practices include mulching, reduced tillage, legume rotation, composting, biochar application, and cover cropping.
3. Regenerated soils enhance carbon sequestration, improve crop resilience, and require less synthetic input.
4. Healthy soils increase infiltration, reducing erosion and nutrient loss.

Rewilding (Ecological Restoration on Farmland)

1. Rewilding restores ecosystems by allowing natural processes, native species, and ecological succession to return.
2. It may involve removing fences, restoring wetlands, reintroducing keystone species, or reducing intensive land uses.
3. Rewilding increases biodiversity, restores natural nutrient cycles, enhances pollination, and improves soil fertility.
4. Criticisms include loss of agricultural income, social resistance, risk of invasive species, and potential imbalance when predators are absent.

Permaculture (Designing Self-Sustaining Agroecosystems)

1. Permaculture creates agricultural systems that mimic the structure and function of natural ecosystems.
2. It prioritises biodiversity, nutrient cycling, closed-loop systems, minimal waste, and long-term resilience.
3. Techniques include guild planting, food forests, rainwater harvesting, mulching, nitrogen-fixing plants, and composting.
4. Permaculture seeks to reduce external inputs by using ecological interactions.

Non-Commercial Cropping

1. Non-commercial cropping includes subsistence crops, fodder crops, medicinal plants, and soil-improving species, not grown for sale.