THE "MONOCULTURE"
The serious environmental problem of its propagation
The type of agriculture with the most invasive and destructive impact is undoubtedly intensive monoculture. Although it has become a conventional method, this mode of agriculture poses a serious problem for the environment. Times are changing, and there is increasing discussion and importance given to issues related to the sustainability and ecology of the environment. Therefore, it is relevant to expose why this problem caused by monocultures exists. Various harms are attributed to this type of practice, which will be analyzed below.
Destruction of ecosystems essential for the health of the planet
Examples from the Amazon (1) and Indonesia (2) are crucial to understanding this scourge. In the Amazon, hundreds of thousands of hectares of tropical forest are being decimated for the sale of wood and the cultivation of soybeans (3) for oils and feeds for the agro-livestock industry. Entire ecosystems of animal and plant biodiversity are simply disappearing to make way for almost exclusive soy cultivation. In Indonesia, for the first time, the concept of "animal refugees" (4) is mentioned due to the destruction of tropical forests for palm monoculture, which is converted into oil used in various processed products for our daily use. The population of orangutans is simply running out of places to live because their habitat, containing all the essential vegetation for their development, is disappearing.
Impoverishment and destruction of soils
Monoculture is not a sustainable practice and therefore continually requires the use of chemicals to aid in plant development. It is entirely dependent on fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides. In a natural setting, the plant can obtain all the necessary nutrients from the soil through the microbial population living near its roots. This diverse population of fungi, bacteria, nematodes, protozoa, and others forms a food chain, and the resulting substances from this system are in perfect condition to be assimilated by the plant. On one hand, the plant needs the nutrients resulting from the processing of the food chain of these animals among themselves, and on the other hand, these animals need dead vegetative material to decompose into food for themselves. Thus, microbes become the link between soil minerals and the plant itself, creating a symbiotic system that Nature has developed, where plants need microbes to survive, and vice versa (5). In the current scenario of monoculture, things are completely different. This symbiotic system is broken in various ways. The first is when synthetic fertilizers are added. These are produced to be perfectly assimilable by plants (6), meaning that when introduced into the soil, they are directly absorbed by the plant roots, bypassing microbial action (6). Therefore, in addition to creating imbalances in the environment, the farmer also stops using sustainable practices as old and efficient as composting or mulching, which precisely serve to add vegetative material to the soil to attract microbes. Conclusively, the continued use of fertilizers completely disrupts the natural soil environment, causing microbial populations to disappear and making plants dependent on these products. This valuable symbiotic system is also broken with the use of all kinds of chemicals mentioned above. Herbicides applied to kill weeds also kill microbial populations. The same goes for fungicides, insecticides, and pesticides applied to the crop (7).
Increased incidence of pests in crops
Since plant biodiversity is practically nonexistent in monoculture, this will also have serious repercussions on animal biodiversity. Plants attract animals, and we can go further in this statement. Certain types of plants attract certain types of animals. For example, there are insect pests that attack crops simply because they do not have predators, other insects, or birds above them in the food chain nearby. Conversely, in a system that prioritizes biodiversity, the population of insects and birds will be enormous, creating a balanced food chain system that does not easily allow the appearance of pests. Imagine a forest inhabited by a diverse range of animals and plants all working together (8).
Soil erosion
As mentioned earlier, in a monoculture system, the only vegetation on the soil is the chosen crop. Everything else is considered a weed. So, it is normal to see agricultural land with the soil always exposed, either due to the action of herbicides or plowing. Thus, vegetative cover is nonexistent. This vegetative cover is crucial for controlling soil erosion. Several studies have been conducted on the effect of rain on covered and uncovered soils, and it has been concluded that uncovered soils lose vast amounts of soil that are easily carried away by water action. Meanwhile, soils with cover can maintain a more cohesive structure due to the action of the long and complex root system of vegetation, preserving the soil's state intact. Hence, the immense importance of having as diverse vegetative cover as possible. In the case of mountainous regions where agriculture is practiced using walls and slopes, it is especially important to let spontaneous vegetation grow to support them. This vegetation will serve as a foundation for the entire structure to remain cohesive during the rainy season (9).
Species extinction
Land loses biodiversity with the planting of a single crop, and therefore, native animals lose their habitat, leading to their extinction. There are hundreds of cases of this throughout recent human history. Their footprint has been too strong, bringing disastrous consequences. Look at what is happening in the Amazon, Indonesia, or other places on the planet where a giant number of species is in danger precisely due to deforestation and clearing for monoculture (1) (2).
Pollution of groundwater
As mentioned above, intensive monoculture uses a series of harmful products for the control and application of its cultural practices. These non-biodegradable products accumulate in the soil and eventually reach the groundwater. From there, these toxic substances can spread everywhere and pollute the environment, without us being able to control the situation. It is therefore of the utmost importance to prevent this from happening (10).
What can we do to avoid all these harms caused by Monoculture?
The first thing to do is simply not to engage in it. We have to think that agriculture is an activity with a very large impact on our planet, and there are many other alternatives to this environmentally harmful method. Instead of focusing on a single crop, why not focus on 10 or more, all mixed together? Undoubtedly, the best response to the scourge of monoculture is polyculture, commonly referred to as Agroforestry Systems. Unfortunately, farmers tend to think of agriculture as a conventional industry, as if their land were a factory; that is, their goal is to specialize and focus on one or two products to be strong in that. While this idea has its advantages in the industry in general, things are different in agriculture. We are talking about natural foods, not artificial products, so specialization and focus cannot be approached in the same way. While in industry, the trend is to reduce the number of references in the portfolio, in agriculture, it has to be exactly the opposite; there has to be an increase so that crops can better collaborate against pests and also to build strong survival systems among themselves, such as underground connections for communication and food exchange.
The domain of Agroforestry is increasingly popular in the current world, with an increasing number of farmers opting for these agro-ecological systems. Strangely enough, these systems have been in place for thousands of years and were strangely abandoned in the 20th century with the industrialization of agriculture. Therefore, we are rightfully returning to our roots.
by
Tiago Cartageno
Owner of Quinta Vila Rachel
Bibliography
(1) Conservation International / https://www.conservation.org/places/amazonia
(2) Conservation International / https://www.conservation.org/places/indonesia
(3) WWF World Wildlife Fund Soy | Industries | WWF
(4) International Animal Rescue / Orangutan Rescue | Projects | International Animal Rescue
(5) Teaming with microbes, The organic Gardener´s Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels & Wayne Lewis
(6) Here’s the scoop on chemical and organic fertilizers | OSU Extension Service
(8) https://www.aimspress.com/fileOther/PDF/agriculture/agrfood-01-00157.pdf
(9) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0341816212002329
(11) FAO /Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( http:// www.fao.org/forestry/agroforestry/89997/en/_ )
(12) Dr Elaine Ingham https://www.soilfoodweb.com