*Reducing the Effects of Drought and Degradation of Agricultural Soils, in the Context… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104446*

erosion, and low production. Water cannot penetrate inferior soil structures, so the rains follow the flow of gravity, transporting major amounts of minerals and salts to the groundwater, rivers, or lakes. During a drought period, there will be no moisture, and groundwater will not be replenished easily. Plants will be stressed, and yields will decrease very fast. In the tropics especially on fertile land, soil deterioration is prevalent. Natural erosion caused by wind, sun, severe rainfall, and poor human management are the most common causes.

It is critical to understand that poor agricultural management before and during a drought has a synergetic effect on soil properties. Land degradation in arid, semiarid, and sub-humid areas may be generated by various external factors including climate change, and draught may lead to desertification. Desertification may be irreversible if not intervened in time, especially when the environment becomes too dry and the soil becomes further degraded through erosion and compaction.

One of the most important hazardous environmental events in recent history was the American Dust Bowl during the years 1930–1936, when large dust storms swept topsoil from significant land areas, making 75% of the original topsoil quality to be lost [4]. Commenting on the American Dust Bowl, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt said "The nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself", a remark that is still relevant to modern crop management practices.

Storms, torrential rains, floods, and droughts are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of climate change. Every year, soil deterioration worsens, plants get stressed, and yields decrease. Soil management is, therefore, an essential element of sustainable agriculture.

Proper regenerative soil management will slow down or stop soil degradation and start to rebuild soil fertility. Management should be focused on obtaining healthy and superior plants that do not need intense chemical treatments since it is proven that a high immunity system protects crops from diseases and insect attacks. Increasing plant immunity will be pointed out in high yields, quality products, plants will get increased resistance to diseases and pest attacks. At the same time soil will become healthier, full of nutrients with an active and rich soil food web. Healthy soils with a balanced nutrients ratio, promote biological high activity and replenish groundwater, and will help the plants to withstand better the drought. To stop soil degradation, special attention must be paid to the phenomena that produce natural erosion, and rejuvenate the soil, while human activities have to change rapidly. Soil regeneration practices sequester an important part of the required amount of carbon in the soil, allowing mankind to maintain control over climate change. Soil carbon allows the land structure to function as a sponge, each gram of carbon-absorbing 8 grams of water. In addition to the positive effect on the mineralization process, carbon helps to build the soil structure, which aids in the supply of air, water, and nutrients to plants. Plants, in response, emit liquid carbon from their roots, increasing, even more, the synergies and water absorption. This phenomenon occurs more frequently when aggressive tilling works are avoided, and the synthetic fertilizer and synthetic biocides application are not used. The techniques, if they are applied indiscriminately have the opposite result, eliminating the carbon. **Figure 1** depicts the most common approach to regenerative agriculture at three levels of management: acknowledge the objectives and benefits, comprehend the fundamental concepts, and put the best practices into action.

Regenerative agriculture requires a complete redesign of the farming system, as well as a shift in the procedures and metrics used in traditional agriculture, and a longer-term commitment of farmers.

**Figure 1.** *A simplified approach to regenerative agriculture implementation.*
