Capture carbon through regenerative agriculture and halt climate change - climate gardens now

 

Mitigate climate change by capturing carbon through regenerative agriculture - Start an organic climate garden now

 

Do you feel hopeless about climate change and the damage we are doing to our planet?  I did, but then I found a new way to look at the problem, which made the solution so obvious and so within reach. A solution that's right under our feet. Yes, the solution to climate change is right under our feet. It is the soil. Carbon can be farmed into the soil if only we start by regenerating our soil organisms to restore soil health.  Yes, Carbon farming is the solution to climate change. Come follow us let’s check it out.

Climate change is all about too much carbon in our atmosphere. Carbon is not our enemy, it's the building block of life. Everything alive is made of it. even us.  The problem and the solution are simply a matter of balance. Let's step back and look at the five pools where carbon is stored on planet Earth. Starting about 500 million years ago, when plants appeared on land, carbon began to cycle in an amazing balance. A balance that allowed for life as we know it to evolve.  Then one life form, us, figured out how to extract carbon from the fossil pool, then we burned it for energy, putting it into play and disrupting that balance. The way we manage land and do agriculture is moving even more carbon from the soil and biosphere into the atmosphere. Specifically, we've moved 880 Gigatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which is heating up the planet and destabilizing our climate. Now the oceans have absorbed a lot of this excess carbon which is resulting in ocean acidification and accelerating a mass extinction of sea life.

How to save lives?

In order to save lives, we have to stop releasing fossil carbon into the atmosphere. Then look for ways to capture the excess carbon that is already in the atmosphere to get this cycle back into balance. You'll remember when I said that the solution to climate change is healthy soils. Plants use sunlight and water to perform photosynthesis. They pull in carbon from the air and turn it into carbohydrates sugars. Then they pump some of those sugars down through their roots to feed microorganisms who use that carbon to build soil. Bingo. Carbon can move - plants pump it in and the soil stores it. Nature's living technology is amazing. Scientists have recently discovered that applying a thin layer of compost, sets off an ongoing positive feedback loop that brings more and more carbon into the soil each year. In concert with other regenerative practices like reducing soil tillage, planting trees, cover crops and planned grazing, we can build and retain Giga-tons of soil carbon. This is carbon farming. This is regenerative agriculture and there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come.

More carbon in the atmosphere is bad for us, while more carbon in the ground is good for us. It makes healthy soil that is nutrient-rich full of life and holds way more water. This means more nutritious food and crops that are more resilient in the face of drought. That's good news for farmers, families, communities, nations and everyone that eats.

Remember, the way we grow our food, fiber, and fuel either puts carbon up into the atmosphere or it pulls it down into the ground. The regeneration of soil is the task of our generation. Our health, the health of our soils and the health of our planet, are one and the same

 What happens to captured carbon in the Rhizosphere?

The secret of bio-sequestration is in the Rhizosphere. The Rhizosphere is the area around the plant roots that is inhabited by micro-organisms. Plant's roots are working symbiotically with these micro-organisms. They are a very important population in the soil that makes it healthy for plants to grow such as bacterial, fungi, nematodes, protozoa amongst others.

Soil microbes in the Rhizosphere

Bacterial act like food storage banks for your plants. They are the earth’s primary decomposer of organic matter, locking up nutrients close to the plant’s roots which may otherwise be leached.  When the bacterial dies, those nutrients are released to feed the plants.

Mycorrhizae are beneficial fungi living symbiotically with the roots. The roots provide the carbon that the fungus needs to grow and the fungus transport water and nutrients to the roots. What a wonderful win-win situation.

Most of the time we see only the fungus that appears above the soil like mushrooms, but there are millions of fungi, bacterial, amoeba, etc under the soil that makes the soil fertile. Plants depend on a network of tiny fungi for water and other nutrients. Let dive below the soil to take a closer look. There is a network of living fungal threads called hyphy. Ants help to maintain soil health by aerating the earth, circulating water and nutrients. Tiny moss may dine on tiny nematodes. Nematodes consume single-cell amoebas which are very small that we can’t see. Amoeba devours thinner bacterial. Fungus and bacteria decompose death materials. In nature, nothing is wasted.

Let's enjoy the wonders of nature as we explore deeper. Nature's living technology is amazing. The hyphy spreads and keeps traveling until it reaches plants roots. The fungus wrapped around the root tip. The hyphy pushes itself into the space between the tree cells where a chemical exchange takes place. The fungi provide the plants with essential minerals while the plants supply the fungus with energy-rich sugars. Win-win nutrients - energy exchange.

It gives me hope to know that Plant, People and Planet health are interconnected. But we keep destroying our soil with external chemicals and I wonder why. The application of pesticide, insecticide and herbicide; the use of heavy machinery and the practice of leaving soil bare without cover crops have left us with little or no soil life population. The ground surrounding residential areas and commercial properties a particularly lacking in soil life.

It is the duty of this generation to get the earth back to the garden of Eden that it was, by farming carbon. Let’s bring back biodiversity to a place that was devastated. Planting a garden has the power to change the world and even you can do it. Regenerative gardening actually helps us to reverse climate change by building healthy living soil. Even a small garden has the potential to impact the global crisis of climate change. Start your regenerative climate garden now and grow organic.

• Stay away from chemicals. If you don’t want it in your body, don’t put it in your food.
• Practice minimal tillage and keep the soil covered at all times. Any plant is better than no plant. They protect and build the soil
• Encourage biodiversity for more resilience.
• Grow food. Food from your backyard means fewer food miles and food shipped all the way to your grocery store.
• Composts – make it and use it. It's a probiotic regenerative source for your soil life.

We can all participate by establishing Climate Gardens that build healthier soil and help reverse climate change. Help share the good news: Go tell it on the mountains that we can rebuild soil and regenerate the land and heal the planet. We can restore soil fertility, improve water cycles, and sequester carbon in the soil. Be the change and start planting today. Let the microbes, bacterial, fungus, amoeba do the job that nature has bestowed on them. The world needs your voice now. Mother earth needs you to take action and start growing organic food. Be that change and reverse climate change through planting trees, crops, vegetables, flowers…. Just plant something today. Any plant is better than no plant. So plant your Climate Garden and share your stories with us.

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How to fix the soil by restoring organic matter to improve crop yield, s...

Importance of Soil Organic Matter

 

The role of soil organic matter in agriculture

It is important for farmers to maintain healthy soil because it produces healthy crops that nourish people. Plants obtain nutrients from organic matter and minerals. Organic matters are plants and animal materials that return to the soil and decompose to produce nutrients, bind soil particles into aggregates, improve water holding capacity of the soil and harbor other soil organisms. These soil organisms convert dead materials, decaying matter and minerals into plant nutrients. Their biological activities depend on the organic matter supply and the type of substrate. The exchange of these nutrients between organic matter, water and soil is vital to soil fertility. Organic matter and soil nutrients need to be maintained for the continuous production of food. The soil fertility will decline if the land is cultivated without restoring the organic matter, nutrients and soil structure. This may further destroy the agro-ecosystem and reduce food yield. Organic matter thus plays a vital role in improving soil productivity and sustainable crop production, especially in the tropics. 

Mulching preserves moisture & organic matter

What is soil organic matter?

Soil Organic Matter (SOM) is a wide range of carbon-containing compounds formed from organic material – the products of on-site biological decomposition which keeps the soil healthy. SOM helps to feed plants, increases growth and yield; improves the soil structure, fertility and acts as a mulch to suppress weeds, protects the soil and reduces water lost. Soil organic matter is key to drought-resistant soil, sustaining food and increasing production. It can also be called soil improver, soil conditioner, or humus.

The soil organic matter is governed by the carbon cycle. The plant grows and adds organic matter to the soil through its roots, fallen leaves and dead plants. Most animals feed on plants and animal matter is also returned to the soil.  When they decompose, the organic matter releases carbon dioxide that is used by the plant in photosynthesis and valuable plant nutrients such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus and minerals.

The continuous supply of organic matter also acts as a food source for micro-organisms and helps build up soil carbon in a process called assimilation – which is vital for soil formation, nutrient availability and cycling. Different types of organic matter produce different organic matter fractions because they have different assimilation and decomposition characteristics. So if the rate of decomposition is more than assimilation, the SOM will reduce quickly (e.g. poultry manure); but if the rate of assimilation is more than decomposition, the SOM will increase (e.g. woodchips). The rate at which decomposition occur depends on oxygen, temperature, moisture, the surface area of the particle and its chemical structure. It takes more than 1 or 2 years for most organic matter to decompose and an ideal active soil organic matter contains about one-third of decomposable organic matter.

Avocado planted without tillage 

Why use organic matter?

In a natural forest, organic matter accumulates in soils.  Natural soils contain about 40% more organic matter than cultivated soils. When we cultivate the soil, the SOM declines because planted crops supply less organic residues than natural vegetation and the effects of tillage (digging, hoeing …) further increase the rate of SOM loss. It continues to decline to a level where the soil function is impaired and becomes unproductive. 

SOM influences several critical soil functions. It helps the soil to hold water and nutrient, improves soil structure, enhances productivity and environmental quality, reduces the severity of droughts, soil erosion and atmospheric carbon dioxide that contribute to climate change. SOM binds soil particles into aggregates that hold moisture and nutrients (preventing them from being washed away by rain). When plant roots penetrate these aggregates, the nutrients are released to feed the plants.

What human intervention decreases organic matter?

Repetitive harvesting of crops reduces soil nutrients and SOM. So much effort is needed to replenish these nutrients and restore soil quality. Most agricultural practices like ploughing, tillage and burning of vegetation increase the decomposition of soil organic matter and the soil become infertile and susceptible to erosion. Land use and management practices affect SOM. Below are some human activities that greatly decrease organic matter;

•  Decrease in biomass production such as replacement of perennial crops, replacement of mixed vegetation to monoculture or pastures, high level of harvesting (e.g. corn with stalks) and the use of bare fallow.
• Reduction of organic matter supply like burning of natural vegetation or crop residues (wildfires), overgrazing, and removal of crop residues.
•  Increasing decomposition rate through tillage, draining, fertilizers and pesticide usage.

How do we increase SOM in farms and gardens?

The key to soil restoration is to maximize the retention and recycling of plants' nutrients and organic matter while minimizing the loss of soil components through leaching, erosion and runoff. This will help to maintain, improve and rebuild soil health and sustain agricultural productivity. Farmers or gardeners need to continuously add sufficient organic matter (3-6%) to increase soil nutrients holding capacity, moisture and plant growth. Severe impacts may occur if the organic matter levels fall below 2%. Fortunately, you don’t need to test the soil to know if it needs organic matter or not. Soils that are light in color and compact when wet or dry probably require organic matter.

Some good conservation agricultural practices like zero or minimal tillage, cover cropping, agroforestry, perennial forage crops and crop rotations can help to maintain surface residues, roots and SOM. They can also suppress weeds, enhance soil aggregates and intact large spores which in turn allow water filtration and reduce water erosion and run-offs. The diverse soil organisms in SOM contribute to pests control and other essential ecological processes. Permaculture or well-managed integrated mixed crop-livestock farming systems are able to enhance SOM and restore soil health.

Mango planted with a little digging

Sources of organic matter

There are different sources of organic matter according to the different land use. The most important source of organic matter is biomass production.

•  Agricultural farms can get organic matter from crop residues, animal manure, green manure. The application of livestock manure to agricultural land increases soil organic matter in the soil profile.
•  Home gardens can get organic matter from household waste, commercial waste, old wood, green waste and compost - kitchen compost (from vegetables, fruit and gardening waste) and green compost (from pruning, branches, grass and leaf litter).

Garden compost is less costly and effective. Some compost can be bought as soil improvers or conditioners. Composted animal manure, spent hops from local breweries and spent mushroom compost can also be collected and used. Some councils offer municipal compost to gardeners (beware of weed killer residues). Organic matter can be stored - stacked and cover with rainproof material to prevent nutrients from being washed off by rain.

How to apply organic matter to soil

Into the soil: -Always add only well-composted materials into the soil to avoid soil nitrogen depletion. 5kg of compost per square meter is sufficient.

On the soil as mulch: - Most organic material can be used directly as mulch e.g. shredded wood waste, wood chip, bark, leaves. Coarser materials will take a longer time to break down. 2-5 cm mulch is enough for weed control or no-tillage gardens.

Leaves return to the soil as organic matter

Always wear boots and gloves when handling the organic matter; avoid eating, drinking, smoking and wash hands after application. Apply nutrients a week before planting and don’t over-fertilize to avoid contamination of water bodies.

Organic matter saves on fertilizer costs because manure contains about 0.8% nitrogen, 0.3% phosphate and 0.8% potash. Unlike fertilizers, the nutrients in organic matter are released slowly with little wastage and the organic matter themselves improves soil structure. Organic matter can be applied every 2 years because the nutrients are mainly available in the first 2 years after application and decrease thereafter. Make sure your compost is free of pests, diseases and weed seeds.

 Conclusion

Maintaining levels of SOM and optimizing nutrient cycling is vital in agricultural productivity. Some SOM fractions function as natural plant hormones that improve seed germination, root initiation, uptake of plant nutrients and provide N, P and S. Farmers should aim to achieve optimal agro-ecosystems that are socially, ecologically and economically sustainable by practicing conservation agriculture - a system that is able to convert low-input agricultural systems into a more productive one. Farmers need to understand the linkages between soil life, functions of the ecosystem and the impact of human activities to know how to enhance soil health and capture the full benefits of soil biological activities that lead to a more sustainable and productive agricultural system. A healthy soil ecosystem does the following:

• Decompose organic matter to form humus
• Retain Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sulphur, Potassium and Calcium.
• Glue soil particles together into aggregates for the best structure
• Protect roots from pests and diseases
• Make retained nutrients available to the plant.
• Produce hormones that help plants grow
• Retain water moisture

SOM at different decomposition levels

Farmers! Let’s benefit from this knowledge and increase productivity. Take appropriate action now and let’s together feed the growing population while maintaining agro-ecosystems. Leave a comment or question below so we know you were here.

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