Enhancing Nutrient Recycling Through Regenerative Practices Under Different Agroecosystems

Today’s agriculture is under enormous pressure to fulfil the food requirements of the growing world’s population. Conventional agriculture (CA) has increased food production through intensive cultivation practices, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, etc. Excess use of chemicals in agriculture can lead to biodiversity loss and negatively affects nutrient recycling and availability. The CA system is not preferable for sustainable food production as it causes soil degradation and reduced soil fertility, leading to decreased productivity. Regenerative agriculture (RA) is an alternate approach to restore soil health, increasing crop productivity by carbon sequestration. The fundamental principles of RA include residue retention, increase in species diversity, minimum tillage practices, elimination of synthetic fertilizers, and use of organic manures or composts. These practices improve the soil’s biological health and are responsible for nutrient recycling and availability. Crop diversification reduces nutrient deficiencies, adds a variety of nutrients to decomposition, and enhances microbial activity, providing available nutrients. RA increases the soil carbon buildup, essential for increasing microbial population and soil fertility. The literature suggests that minimum tillage, residue retention, and cover cropping can improve soil carbon, nutrient availability, crop yields, and health. Various technologies based on geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), sensors, drones, etc., detect the stress levels in crops and help in decision-making of nutrient management. RA can be considered as an efficient approach for enhancing nutrient recycling.