Soil Improvement: The Step Beyond Men of the Trees Remineralization Trials

Western Australia is semi-arid, with annual rainfall on the same order as Africa’s Sahel. Our soils are ancient many millions of years old. Ages of weathering and leaching, and a few decades of farming with soluble NPK fertilizers, have left them impoverished. Today, despite the greatest care, each year large tracts of land are lost to salt and wind erosion. Shelterbelts of trees are indispensable allies in an effort to reverse this loss of farmland, and to anchor a regeneration of the soil. Significant forest cover can eventually stabilize the local climate, too. The Western Australia chapter of Men of the Trees is dedicated to this task.