It is widely known that soil is one of the media in which all kinds and types of habitat for living creatures can reproduce which have a system of biotic and abiotic elements which are very important for the agroecosystem.
All types of habitat are in the soil, such as fungi, bacteria, protozoa, or other animals such as worms. All kinds and types of living organisms are what is called and termed soil biodiversity. They really help to maintain and increase the productivity of agroecosystems.
High biodiversity in the soil is considered to be able to maintain the surrounding environmental agrosystem so that it can be utilized optimally and has the carrying capacity for environmental sustainability.
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The world of agriculture is generally known to be one of the oldest activities in the history of human civilization to date. So it is not surprising that in the last few decades various innovations to increase productivity acceleration have developed so rapidly.
It is believed that sustainable agriculture through the use of organic fertilizer will be able to improve the health of the soil so that soil biodiversity can also grow.
Soil biodiversity for agriculture
The relationship between soil biodiversity and agricultural activities is becoming increasingly clear because it turns out that soil organisms play an important role in increasing plant productivity.
Therefore, soil conservation and biodiversity are the only key factors for the agricultural sector that can have a positive influence on the welfare of farmers.
Farmers' livelihoods depend heavily on the yields of the crops they plant, which is the reason why many farmers often use synthetic fertilizers and pesticides as an effort to increase their income.
However, for a handful of farmers who have a high level of awareness about the environment, they are actually worried about the dangers of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to the ecosystem rather than just thinking about their own income.
For this reason, the mindset of farmers with a view towards sustainable agriculture is very different, many of them use work patterns that are friendly and tolerant of nature and allow the environmental ecosystem not to be damaged.
Some of these work patterns, apart from using organic fertilizers and pesticides, also use soil cover (mulch) in planting, and carry out crop rotation. From work practices like this, soil biodiversity can be preserved, thereby helping to reduce production costs incurred in purchasing fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides.
The role of soil biodiversity in food production
The importance of soil biodiversity for agricultural activities does not only benefit from the economic side as discussed earlier. But furthermore, soil biodiversity is also indirectly a measure of the quality of the food harvested.
Therefore, we can understand agriculture, biodiversity and food security as elements in a network that are directly linked to soil health.
In fact, conventional land management practices that still rely on synthetic means of production have caused soil damage and loss of biodiversity.
Quoted from kompas.com, a professor from the Bogor Agricultural Institute, Iswandi Anas Chaniago, revealed the fact that 72 percent of agricultural land in Indonesia has been damaged due to the high use of chemical fertilizers.
The results of Dr. Suprapto Dibyosaputro, M.Sc. et al., showed similarly, in the Kejajar sub-district, Wonosobo Regency, it was found that agricultural land that had continuously used chemical fertilizers for more than 5 years caused its organic matter content to decrease from 7.08% to 6.88%, as well as the soil pH dropping from 5.97 to 4.50. As a result, the population of living earthworms went from 1-10 individuals/meter to 0 individuals/meter.
So, if agricultural productivity is allowed to continue to decline, it will lead to problems of food insecurity.
In the long term, work practices using synthetic production facilities also result in poor food quality. It should be noted that living organisms in the soil work to increase the levels of macro-micro nutrients that will be absorbed by plants so that they can grow more fertilely with healthy nutritional content and are free of chemical elements.
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