Without clean water, the basis of life, there is no agriculture or food production. Rivers and lakes, fed by, among other things, water run-off from fields, are the primary source of drinking water and the habitat of diverse flora and fauna.
The aquatic environment of mid-field ponds and drainage ditches, as well as streams, rivers and lakes surrounded by agricultural fields, is a complex ecosystem linked to what happens in the soil.
Water is an essential factor in the growth and yield of crop plants. A prerequisite for this is the storage of water in the soil, as well as the ability for water to soak into the soil and for water to submerge from the subsoil into the root sphere. All of this requires the presence of soil aggregates, capillaries, soil micro- and macropores, which do not exist in over-compacted soil.
Water management is detailed in Area 10: Water Management.