Regenerative agriculture is a sustainable farming practice that focuses on restoring and improving soil health, biodiversity, and ecosystem services.

There are a number of key terms and definitions used in the language of regenerative agriculture.

Here’s our glossary shortlist;

1. Agroecology: The study of ecological processes in agricultural systems and the application of ecological principles to farming practices. Regenerative agriculture is often informed by agroecological principles to create sustainable and environmentally-friendly farming systems.
2. Animal integration: a regenerative practice that mimics nature by adding livestock to farming. The animals can eat the cover crops used to protect the soil while adding manure that improves soil health. 
3. Biodiversity: The variety and abundance of organisms living in a particular ecosystem.
4. Carbon cycle: how carbon compounds are processed in the environment, typically involving carbon dioxide being incorporated into plants and some other organisms by photosynthesis and returned to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels. 
5. Carbon sequestration: The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide in soils and vegetation. Regenerative agriculture practices, such as cover cropping and no-till farming, can increase carbon sequestration and help mitigate climate change.
6. Cover crop: a crop planted primarily to avoid allowing the land to be bare between seasons, although the cover crop itself could have value as food for grazing animals or as another cash crop. It is used to stop soil erosion and maintain or improve soil fertility.
7. Crop rotation: the agricultural practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same location over the years so that the soil is not overly depleted of specific nutrients used by a single plant.  
8. Conservation agriculture: An approach to farming that aims to protect and enhance natural resources, such as soil and water.
9. Intercropping: the companion planting method of growing one crop alongside another
10. Legumes: (peas, beans, vetches, clovers, alfalfa, alders and others) are useful crops as they help microorganisms pull nitrogen, vital for plant growth, out of the atmosphere and into the soil. Growing legumes reduces the need for detrimental artificial nitrogen fertilizer
11. Managed grazing: ranching practices that attempt to improve rangelands by imitating the natural activity of migratory herds that cluster tightly for protection (also called “mob grazing”). The livestock disturb the soil with their hooves while eating—naturally incorporating their manure— and then move on so the land is improved and less likely to be damaged. 
12. Microbes: also known as microorganisms are tiny living things that are found all around us and are too small to be seen by the naked eye. They live in water, soil, and in the air. The human body is home to millions of these microbes, some microbes make us sick, others are important for our health.
13. Min-till: short for minimum tillage; where there is minimum disturbance of the soil necessary to establish and grow crops.
14. Mixed farming: is the practice of growing cash crops as well as raising animals.
15. Nitrates: chemical compounds of nitrogen and oxygen, used as agricultural fertiliser
16. No-till farming: is a way of growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through plowing or overturning it. 
17. Pasture: land with grass and/or similar plants growing on it which are suitable for animals to eat.
18. Pasture cropping: is a farming technique where annual crops are sown into a perennial grassland that is either entering dormancy or that has been prepared by grazing to take away the competitive advantage of the perennial grasses in the pasture.
19. Perennial: are plants that live more than two years and the name literally translates to “through the years.” Unlike short-lived annuals or biennials these varieties are fairly low-maintenance after their initial planting and therefore soil disturbance is minimalized.
20. Perennial crops: Plants that live for more than two years and do not need to be replanted each growing season. Perennial crops can help improve soil health and reduce erosion.
21. Photosynthesis: the process by which a plant uses the energy from sunlight to produce its own food.
22. Rotational grazing: a managed grazing technique that moves livestock to fresh fields or pastures, allowing those already grazed to recover.
23. Soil fertility: the ability of a soil to consistently sustain plant life of high quality and yield.  
24. Soil health: Refers to the condition of the soil in terms of its physical, chemical, and biological properties. Healthy soil is crucial for plant growth and overall ecosystem function.
25. Soil microbiome: refers to fungi, archaea and bacteria.
26. Strip tillage: also known as zone tillage, is a modified form of deep tillage, meaning narrow strips are tilled in the soil, but the plant residue between the rows is left undisturbed.
27. Water-holding capacity: the ability of the soil to hold water. This is affected by soil aggregate stability and the amount of organic matter in the soil. One of the benefits of Regenerative Agriculture is improving the land’s ability to make use of the rainfall that occurs and eliminating topsoil degradation via water run-off.

References:

1.https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/forestry/policies/rfa/glossary

2. agriculture-glossary-1yrabeg.pdf (cpb-ap-se2.wpmucdn.com)

3.Lal, R. (2018). “Soil degradation as a reason for inadequate human nutrition.” Food Security, 10(5), 1139-1153.

4. Altieri, M.A., and Nicholls, C.I. (2018). “Agroecology and the design of climate change-resilient farming systems.” Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 38(4), 38.4. https://www.csuchico.edu/regenerativeagriculture/ra101-section/terms-you-should-know.shtml