| Abstract: | SUMMARY Cropping system refers to temporal and spatial arrangements of crops, and management of soil, water and vegetation in order to optimize the biomass/agronomic production per unit area, per unit time and per unit input. Soil quality refers to its intrinsic attributes that govern biomass productivity and environment moderating capacity. It is the ability of soil to perform specific functions of interest to humans. Three components of soil quality (e.g., physical, chemical and biological) are determined by inherent soil characteristics, some of which can be altered by management. Soil quality and soil resilience are inter-related but dissimilar attributes. Resilient soils, which have the ability to restore their quality following a perturbation, have high soil quality and vice versa. Decline in soil quality sets-in-motion degradative processes, which are also of three types, namely physical (e.g., compaction, erosion), chemical (e.g., acidification, salinization) and biological (e.g., depletion of soil organic matter content). Soil degradation, a biophysical process but driven by socioeconomic and political causes, adversely affects biomass productivity and environment quality. Determinants of soil quality are influenced by cropping systems and related components. Dramatic increases in crop yields during the 20th century are attributed to genetic improvements in crops, fertilizer use, and improved cropping systems. Dependence on fertilizers and other input, however, need to be reduced by adopting cropping systems to enhance biological nitrogen fixation and use efficiency of water and nutrients through conservation tillage, cover crops, and improved methods of soil structure and nutrient management. |
