Soil Management
Farming practices that increase the health, resilience, carbon content, and productivity of soils—including cover crops, erosion control, microbial inoculants, and other non-fertilizer soil improvers.
Healthy Soils to Cool The Planet: A Philanthropic Action Guide
This guide, supported by One Earth, focuses on philanthropic and investment opportunities to promote healthy soils and soil carbon sequestration (SCS) primarily through changes in agricultural practices in the United States and globally. Focus topics and strategic system game changers include waste to compost, geographic hotspots, peatlands, ecological restoration & green infrastructure as well as irrigated rice. It provides an initial roadmap for investing in healthy soils to help cool the planet and enhance resilience.
Compost amendment to enhance carbon sequestration in rangelands
Rangelands, which hold 20% of the world’s soil carbon, have experienced significant soil carbon losses due to past management practices, jeopardizing their long-term productivity and sustainability. Compost amendments have been proposed as a strategy to enhance soil carbon sequestration while providing multiple benefits to rangeland ecosystems and land managers. A review of the literature reveals that compost applications, derived from sources such as green waste, food waste, manure, and biosolids, have been studied in rangelands across eight countries and five continents. These studies have documented both short-term (less than one year) and long-term (over 12 years) effects of compost on soil and plant characteristics. On average, compost amendments were found to increase aboveground production by over 40% and belowground carbon content by 50%. Additional benefits of compost amendments included improved aggregate stability by approximately 42%, enhanced water retention by 18%, and increased nutrient availability, with nitrogen and phosphorus availability rising by 37% and 126%, respectively. Compost additions also generally reduced erosion, though the variability was high. However, the impact on plant diversity was minimal, and few studies explored the effects on soil microbial communities and functions. Both field and modeling studies indicated that compost amendments could lead to long-term carbon storage in soils. Overall, the findings suggest that compost amendments can improve rangeland resilience to climate change and offer a viable climate mitigation strategy through enhanced soil carbon sequestration.
The climate change mitigation potential of annual grasslands under future climates
This study investigates the impact of composted manure and green waste amendments on carbon sequestration in rangeland soils and their potential to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels. It also examines how future climate changes might affect soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks and greenhouse gas emissions in these ecosystems. Using the DayCent biogeochemical model, the researchers simulated the long-term effects of climate change on carbon dynamics in annual grasslands, both with and without compost amendments. The simulations, based on data from seven California grasslands, used climate projections from two Earth system models (CanESM2 and HadGEM-ES) and two emissions scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) through 2100.
Non-Flat Earth Recalibrated for Terrain and Topsoil
This report highlights a challenge to the traditional view of Earth's land being flat, suggesting its actual surface area is much larger when accounting for hills and soil details. By using various methodologies, it is hypothesized that the Earth's surface could be quadruple the conventional measurement when terrain and soil complexities are considered. This significant increase suggests a massive underestimation of soil organic carbon and biodiversity, which has implications for global climate models and conservation strategies. The paper advocates for the establishment of a Soil Ecology Institute to fill knowledge gaps and improve land management to combat issues like soil erosion and biodiversity loss, emphasizing the critical role of soils in sustaining life and ecosystems.
Pathways Forward
Emily Bateson, Brenda Barrett, Robert Bendick, Ernest Cook, Shawn Johnson, Laramie Maxwell, Nora Mitchell, Kit Muller, Jonathan Peterson, and Peter Williams
Combating deforestation: From satellite to intervention
Matt Finer, Sidney Novoa, Mikaela J. Weisse, Rachael Petersen, Joseph Mascaro, Tamia Souto, Forest Stearns, Raúl García Martinez
Hyperdominance in Amazonian Forest Carbon Cycling
Sophie Fauset, Michelle O. Johnson, Oliver L. Phillips