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Unit 3: Systems in Action
Qualitative assessments are just as important as quantitative assessments in monitoring the health of the agroecosystem. Here are a few basic questions to start with:
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What has been happening with crop yields? What trends are you seeing over time, or what variability do you note across the landscape?
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How does the performance of your crops compare to neighboring farms on similar soil types?
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Do crops quickly show signs of stress during wet or dry periods?
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Are there any symptoms of nutrient deficiencies?
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Is the soil obviously compacted, or does it plow up cloddy and take a lot of secondary tillage?
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Does the soil crust easily?
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Are there signs of excess runoff and erosion?
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Does it take more power than before to run tillage or planting equipment through the soil?
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Are there any increasing problems with diseases, insects, or nutrient stress?
A number of tools and guidebooks have been developed to help farmers and ranchers monitor their systems, and assess the impact of their management decisions. A few examples (also mentioned in Course 1 of this series) are listed below:
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