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Articles on soil science

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A John Deere tractor makes its way through floodwaters in Fargo, North Dakota. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

The dirt on soil loss from the Midwest floods

Recent extreme rains and weather in the Midwest are causing a multitude of problems in the topsoil that much of the nation’s food supply relies on.
Moments after an earthquake in Palu, Friday 29 September 2018, thousands of houses and people in the area were swallowed by the ground because of liquefaction. Mast Irham/EPA

2012 research had identified Indonesian city Palu as high risk of liquefaction

While the term liquafaction has only been widely discussed in Indonesia and the world in the past week, Palu’s susceptibility to liquefy had already been studied.
Planting a diverse blend of crops and cover crops, and not tilling, helps promote soil health. Catherine Ulitsky, USDA/Flickr

Healthy soil is the real key to feeding the world

Conventional wisdom says we need industrial agriculture to feed the world. Not so, says geologist David Montgomery: Practices that focus on creating healthy soil can transform agriculture.

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