Study identifies key agricultural practices that threaten soil health and global food supply

Impacts of agricultural management practices in cropping systems in the short-term and in the long-term. Credit: npj Sustainable Agriculture (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44264-025-00098-6
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The global food system faces growing risks as modern farming practices undermine the resilience of the world's soils, according to new research.

Soil resilience is the ability of soils to withstand, adapt to, and recover from disturbances, ranging from everyday management practices to more severe shocks such as extreme weather events. A major review of agricultural practices has concluded that while intensive techniques such as plowing, fertilizer use and irrigation boost crop yields in the short term, their regular longer-term use can degrade soils, leaving them less able to withstand shocks such as drought, flooding or geopolitical disruption.