Healthy soils for better climate

“The poor and the earth are crying out. O Lord, seize us with your power and light, help us to protect all life, to prepare for a better future, for the coming of your Kingdom of justice, peace, love, and beauty. Praise be to you!” – Pope Francis

There is a sense of urgency for public action as we witness emptiness and ignorance with our government walking away from the Quebec G7 Summit to avoid a discussion on the climate emergency.

In a recent letter from Rep. Bruce Westerman and Rep. Rob Bishop, they attack the Nature Resources Defense Council, along with other environmental organizations for their work on climate. Why would our government try to intimidate us from seeking solutions and taking action?

We call Earth the planet we inhabit and the soil we use, a mysterious, magical, invisible world we hardly understand. The way we treat people and all life on Earth, and the way we care for the soil are interconnected. Dealing with the climate emergency is a choice we make every day in all we do. Improving the soil is a way to a healthier climate. “The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Healthy soils

The soil is made up of organic matter called humus and inorganic matter called dirt. Humus has air, water, decayed plant residue, and microorganisms of animal matter in various stages of decomposition. Inorganic materials are minerals, such as sand, silt, and clay, and account for about half of the total mass of the soil.

Healthy soils are porous, which allows air and water to move freely through them. Healthy soil is a habitat for organisms that grow healthy plants. Increasing organic matter improves soil health. The organic materials impact several critical soil functions.

Soils are traditionally rich in carbon. They can contain as much as five percent carbon by weight in organic matter. But with industrial agricultural techniques, soil organic matter content has dropped by half in many areas of the world. That carbon, once stored in the ground, is now found in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO₂), causing global warming.

Agriculture is one sector of the economy that can change from a major emitter of CO₂ to a net carbon sink. Common agricultural practices, including driving a tractor, tilling, over-grazing and using fossil fuel based fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides result in significant carbon dioxide pollution.

Carbon farming

Carbon farming decreases greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the soil’s carbon content, sequestering carbon that would otherwise be released, and in turn increasing productivity.

Transitioning from industrial agriculture can be done using no-till farming to protect the soil, organic farming to eliminate the use of synthetic fertilizers and genetically modified seeds, and carbon farming to amend the soil with biochar.

Biochar is not a magic bullet. This discussion is about the smart use of biochar to improve the health and resilience of the soil and the quality of the crops.

Biochar is a special type of charcoal, a cellulosic material obtained by pyrolysis, fired in a low oxygen environment such as a kiln so that all matter except for the carbon is burned off.

The microscopic structure of biochar is full of micro-pores. It provides a massive surface area for microbial growth. A micron is one-millionth of a meter, invisible to the naked eye. The average thickness of a human hair is 80 microns.

Carbon farming benefits

Biochar is a reservoir and a conduit for soil moisture, soaking up water from oversaturated areas and spreading it to dry areas. If biochar is turned in a nutrient pile and tilled into the ground, it is colonized by soil microbes that attract fungi, connecting to the roots of the plants, carrying nutrients. Biochar provides a practical way of drawing down and locking carbon from the atmosphere.

From the ground, up

Using biochar is a proven way to a better climate. We will determine our future, with hope and compassion, protecting the poor and the earth, caring for each other. This is our sacred call. This is the true American way.

Dr. Luis Contreras