Masanobu Fukuoka was a Japanese farmer whose book, “The One Straw Revolution” sees the farmer as more a guide than relentlessly (over-)active participant, encouraging the preservation of topsoil and, within it humus, via permanent native ground cover (“weeds”). Estates who have adopted this idea in their farming include Domaine Julien Meyer in Alsace, and La Clarine Farm in California.

See also: cover crops.