What is Soil acidification and what are its causes?

Wikifarmer

Editorial team

1 min read
What is Soil acidification and what are its causes?

What is Soil acidification and what are its causes?

Soil acidification is the gradual decrease of soil pH over the years. It is not good because it negatively affects crops, indigenous plants, and wildlife. The soil and subsoil become less fertile and less friendly to crops and soil micro-organisms. Although soil acidification would happen naturally and slowly without human intervention, it is greatly accelerated by modern agriculture. More specifically, the extensive use of ammonium-based Nitrogen fertilizers is the main cause of soil acidification.