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Homage to soil
Perhaps surprisingly, given that I worked for more than 20 years for an organisation called the Soil Association, my striving to understand the full significance and importance of the soil is still an evolving process which continues to be inspired and illuminated by ongoing revelations derived from my farming, my reading and my role in the Sustainable Food Trust. I thought it would be relevant to reflect on some of these recent milestones, particularly bearing in mind the various planetary emergencies which are now occupying the attention of citizens throughout the world in the run up to the COP26.
Everyone now knows that the soil is one of the world’s great carbon banks, actually second only to the oceans in its capacity, and arguably the only element of the Earth’s bank of natural capital where changes in farming practice could sequester significant amounts of CO2 out of the atmosphere during the next 10 years. For that reason alone, it deserves to receive a huge amount of attention at the Glasgow summit. In writing this, I am mindful of the vision and leadership shown by the French minister Stéphane Le Foll at COP21 in Paris, launching as he did the so called ‘Quatre pour Mille’ (4 per 1000) initiative inviting all farmers to increase their soil carbon bank by 0.4% per year. Many governments and organisations signed up to this initiative but, due to the lack of financial incentives and the absence of adequate record keeping, little progress has been made towards achieving the French minister’s objectives, which is why the COP26 should be seen as a huge opportunity to implement the scheme.
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How Soil and Carbon are Related
How Soil and Carbon are Related
Carbon cycle is one of the fundamental requirement of life on earth. Soil organic carbon (SOC) can be described as the amount of carbon that is stored in the soil as one of the components of the soil organic matter which comprises the animal and plant materials and different stages of decay. Organic carbon (OC) mainly enters the soil by the decomposition of the animal and plant residuals, dead and living microorganisms, root exudates and soil biota. Soil organic carbon is heterogeneous structure that varies in it particle size, carbon content, turnover time and its decomposition rate. Soil organic carbon is the main energy source for the soil microorganisms. The soil organic matter in the soil has approximately 58% carbon.
ORGANIC CARBON STORED IN SOIL CAN BE INCREASED BY THE FOLLOWING PRACTICES
The processes that can be used to increase the amount of soil carbon in the soil include; things like increasing plant growth which generally increases the input of organic carbon to the soil in roots, shoot material and root exudates example is the increasing water use efficiency and optimal nutrition. Also growing plants for longer durations each year increases the inputs of the organic carbon to the soil. Also by improving the soil structure it can also help to increase the organic carbon stored in the soil by reducing the losses of organic carbon from the soil by erosion and decomposition and this can be done by maintaining the ground cover, retaining stubbles and reduction of compaction. In addition practices like conservation farming, improving crop management through rotation, maintaining and improving forestry management and also improving grazing management can help to increase the organic carbon in the soil.
SOIL CARBON AND SOIL HEALTH
Carbon content in the soil is a major factor of the overall soil health. Soil carbon is meant to improve the physical properties of soil like increasing the cation exchange capacity (CEC).
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