Soil Conservation
IN THIS LESSON
What is composting and how does it help?
The soil benefits greatly from the addition of compost. Composts improve fertility, water holding capacity, bulk density, and biological activity. The use of composted animal manure is an effective way to kill pathogens.
Soil composts also improve soil structure, porosity and density, thus creating a better growing environment for plant roots. Coarser composts have been used with great success as mulch to control soil erosion where conventional erosion control methods have not performed well. The illustration shows how to make compost.
