Polyculture and permaculture methods reduce many agricultural tasks, limiting the soil that can result from mechanical cultivation and from foot traffic, which is particularly useful when cultivating soils with a high clay or silt content.

the principles and empirical processes of discovery and demonstration considered characteristic of or necessary for scientific investigation, generally involving the observation of phenomena, the formulation of a hypothesis concerning the phenomena, experimentation to test the hypothesis, and development of a conclusion that confirms, rejects, or modifies the hypothesis.