Download Soil and Climate Change - Maharishi University of Management

Soil and Climate Change—
Could Soil be the Most
Essential Solution?
Maharishi University of Management | Sustainable Living Department | 2016
2 | Soil and Climate Change
Soil and Climate Change | 3
Become a Climate Change Mitigator
As individuals, it’s easy to feel powerless in the face of global climate change. We can make individual choices to live
with less, and cut down on our own personal carbon footprint, but how do we really make a difference?
Though it may feel like so much is out of our control, the good news is there is a lot of change to be made on our own
through education, teaching, and practice of sustainability and climate change mitigation. Read on to find out how
something simple as soil could be the solution to global warming.
How to Prevent a Climate Meltdown
Scientists have warned us repeatedly that reducing greenhouse gas emissions as fast as we can, will not be enough
to avoid serious damage to our planetary support systems—we also need to remove gigatons of carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere. Many attempts have been made to develop a cost effective method for removing carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere. These attempts have used a wide spectrum of technologies including physics, chemistry and
engineering. So far none have succeeded because the costs are always too high.
Multiple studies show that we will reverse the direction of climate change
when all agriculture has been converted to regenerative practices based on
soil ecology.
1/3
The only safe and cost effective way to remove gigatons of carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere is by letting nature do the work for us. We can use plants to sequester
carbon in the soil if we restore our soils to a normal state of health with a fully operating
soil food web. Plants require carbon dioxide to create the food that they make during
photosynthesis. This means that plants are constantly removing carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere and turning the extracted carbon into the food they need and the
structures they are built from.
(approx.)
of greenhouse gases come from agricultural
practices
620
Let Nature do the Work
What Soil Sequestration will do for Climate Change
Multiple studies show that we will reverse the direction of climate change when all agriculture has been converted to
regenerative practices based on soil ecology. This might seem like a daunting task, but it has already started in many
different ways and only needs widespread training for it to be globally adopted. When we use these methods globally
we will sequester more carbon each year in the soil than is currently being emitted by human industrial activity.
million tons
the agriculture industry United States’ greenhouse
Certified Living Soil Consultants
gas emissions in 2014
Organic agriculture, agroecology, ecological farming, biodynamic farming, carbon
farming, agrarianism, holistic grazing management, etc., all of these and many more
are movements taking root around the world. As crop yields and quality deteriorate, in
spite of the increasing use of fertilizers and chemical pesticides, early adopter farmers
everywhere are looking for better ways to farm. Trained Living Soil Consultants can help
a farmer make the switch to regenerative, soil ecology based practices within one or
two years. Learning how to become one of these well paid consultants is not difficult—it
takes one month of intensive, hands-on learning followed by about a year of working
under the supervision of a certified consultant. Details on a course starting May 2016
can be obtained here.
50 to 70 %
carbon lost from soil.
4 | Soil and Climate Change
Soil and Climate Change | 5
drained away. This has resulted in poor soil structure with
massive soil erosion—the USDA proudly announced in
2015 that they have reduced soil loss in Iowa to a mere
5 billion tons per year. Not only is carbon lost via erosion,
the malfunctioning soil biology causes massive carbon
losses as soil bacteria break down carbon structures
and breathe the carbon out into the atmosphere as
carbon dioxide.
Nature’s Cleansing Functions
For millions of years before humans arrived the soil food
web delivered all the nutrients that plants needed by
building transport systems between mineral soil particles
and plant roots. With the destruction of the soil food
web these bridges no longer functioned. This lack of a
complete nutrition, in spite of human attempts to supply
chemical nutrients, resulted in the plants becoming
stressed and diseased. Stressed plants will actually create
chemical signals that are released into the atmosphere
How Carbon Gets into the Soil.
When the plant is growing in healthy soil, which is filled with
living micro-organisms, it feeds these organisms via its root
system. A significant percentage of the food that it is has
‘manufactured’ during photosynthesis is moved through
the roots into the surrounding soil. This food, which is in
the form of root exudates, is largely made of carbon, as
are all the soil organisms. The result of this movement of
plant food through the roots is that much of the carbon,
which was captured by the pant as carbon dioxide, is
stored in the soil. After it has passed through a number of
organisms in the soil food web this carbon is incorporated
into large, stable organic compounds like humus, which
will stay in the soil for many years. Eventually some of this
carbon in the soil becomes mineralized and can stay in
the soil for millennia.
The Impact of ‘Modern’ Agriculture on Climate
Change
Conventional, chemical agriculture, especially when it
is connected with meat and dairy, is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter—about one third of accumulated
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere come from poor
agricultural practices. We have lost one third of our soil
globally over the past 40 years, largely due to the spread
of industrial agriculture and destructive land use practices
in overpopulated areas. Not only have we lost soil we have
also lost about half the carbon that has been stored in
the soil for millions of years.
About one third of
accumulated greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere
come from poor
agricultural practices
How the Soil Loses its Carbon
Use of artificial fertilizers combined with toxic chemicalpesticides and herbicides has destroyed the soil food
web in most of our soils. Due to the strong bias towards a
chemical perspective in plant nutrition we have ignored
the soil biology and the disastrous impact chemicals
have had upon it. As the soil food web disappears all the
ecosystem services provided by a healthy soil have slowly
Due to the strong bias towards
a chemical perspective in plant
nutrition we have ignored the
soil biology and the disastrous
impact chemicals have had upon
it.
and soil to attract disease organisms and plant pests
so that the plants are quickly removed to make way
for other more healthy plants. Humans responded to
these diseases and pests by using more chemicals,
thereby compounding the problem and producing
poor quality, toxic food.
When Plants Stop Sending Food into the Soil.
Plants become stressed due to incomplete nutrition so
they conserve energy and food—they cease to send
food through their roots into the soil. This cessation of
root exudation is also the result of plants detecting the
lack of appropriate microbiology around their roots.
Without root exudates the carbon stops flowing into
the soil while the imbalanced bacterial population
continues to remove the remaining carbon from the
soil releasing it as carbon dioxide into the air. This is how
‘modern’ agriculture has accelerated climate change
over the past 40 years.
Tons of Carbon Dioxide Sequestered per Acre
Although many regenerative farming studies show
approximately one ton of carbon dioxide removed
per acre per year, recent research has shown that far
higher amounts can be sequestered. Work done by
scientists at Texas A&M and New Mexico State University show that between 4 and 7 tons of carbon dioxide
can be sequestered per acre per year, when improved
practices are used. It is highly probable, however, that
even higher levels of sequestration can be achieved,
as very little research and development has been
focused on this area.
30 to 50 years of Sequestering Carbon in Soil
Our soils have become so depleted of carbon that
scientists estimate we have at least 30 years, probably
50 years of sequestering carbon in our soils before they
become saturated. These estimates may be too low
as they are based on limited knowledge. Evidence is
accumulating that we could increase the soil organic
matter, which is largely carbon, to much higher levels
than was found in pre-human soils. Agricultural soils
average between 1 and 3 percent carbon, whereas
untouched prairie soils had at least 12 and up to 20
percent carbon. Also conventional agricultural soils are
very shallow—frequently less than one foot deep. Prairie
topsoils, on the other hand, were many feet deep with
roots and their accompanying soil biology penetrating
Work done by scientists at Texas
A&M and New Mexico State
University show that between 4
and 7 tons of carbon dioxide can
be sequestered per acre per year,
when improved practices are
used.
to 12 and even 20 feet.
6 | Soil and Climate Change
Soil and Climate Change | 7
An acre of farmed land can remove between 1 and 7 tons of carbon
dioxide per year.
Soil Sequestration, Solar and Wind—the Numbers.
There is no doubt that we have to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy. It is also
clear that solar and wind energy has become competitive with fossil fuel energy and
that we are witnessing a global transition away from fossil fuels. Even so we will need to
do more than reduce emissions—we need to remove a lot of the already accumulated
greenhouse gases if we are to avoid the meltdown of our civilization. An acre of farmed
land can remove between 1 and 7 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Compare this with
approximately 1,200 kilowatt hours of solar or wind generated electricity which will prevent
about 1 ton of carbon dioxide from being emitted. The total cost including installation
and maintenance of that ton of carbon dioxide not being emitted is between $100 and
$200. Compare that with the cost of training a farmer to use regenerative agriculture
that will sequester thousands of tons of carbon dioxide each year.
Switching to Regenerative Agriculture Based on Soil
Ecology is Highly Profitable
When the soil is healthy, so that plants sequester carbon, there are a lot of benefits besides
the sequestration of carbon. Soil structure improves so that the soil soaks up water from
heavy downpours reducing flooding and holding water for plants during dry periods and
droughts—both of which are increasing with climate change. Plant roots go much deeper
and the soil organisms create bridges between plants and minerals in soil particles so
that the plants get all the nutrition they need. Nutrient dense plants naturally resist disease,
become unpalatable to pests and produce foods that are nutrient dense with all the
micronutrients present. Such healthy plants require about half as much water—which
is becoming as important as reducing greenhouse gases in areas like California where
irrigation is common. As the soil ecology matures, weed seeds do not germinate (they
like immature soils,) thereby removing the need to use herbicides and their associated
GMO plants. These practices also reduce the need to till the land. The reduced need for
tilling, adding fertilizers, controlling plant diseases, eliminating pests, fighting weeds and
reduced irrigation, all result in much lower costs for the farmer—along with higher yields
and far more nutritious and delicious foods. Such foods also attract more customers so
the retailers increase their profits. With all these financial incentives, farmers are happy
to pay certified Living Soil Consultants at professional rates for the enormous value that
they deliver.
Become a Living Soil Consultant
This course will change everything you know about soil!
Maharishi University of Management offers a couse in Living Soil. Learn to:
• Build and stabilize soil humus as quickly as possible
• Increase nutrient and mineral density in food
• Create robust human microbiomes – we are what we eat! communities of soil micro-organisms – the bacteria,
fungi, protozoa, beneficial nematodes, and micro-arthropods – that provide plants with all the nutrients they need
Today’s conventional agricultural methods (monocropping, fertilizers, pesticides) have produced high yields — but
damage human and environmental health. The United States uses more than one billion tons of toxic pesticides
each year, polluting our air and water and depleting the soil of essential nutrients.
The good news is that by using more sustainable farming practices, such as the those taught in the Living Soils
course, we can create truly healthy, biologically diverse soil, reverse the effects of industrial agriculture, and move
forward with a system that will sustain itself for generations to come. Learn more here.
8 | Soil and Climate Change
You can read more about soil sequestration and climate change at:
1. One-third of our greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture
http://www.nature.com/news/one-third-of-our-greenhouse-gas-emissions-come-from-agriculture-1.11708
2. Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change
http://rodaleinstitute.org/regenerative-organic-agriculture-and-climate-change/
3. Soil as Carbon Storehouse: New Weapon in Climate Fight?
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/soil_as_carbon_storehouse_new_weapon_in_climate_fight/2744/
4. Soil Carbon Sequestration Impacts on Global Climate Change and Food Security by Dr. Rattan Lal (1)
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.463.8090&rep=rep1&type=pdf
5. Garnaut Climate Change Review .
http://www.garnautreview.org.au/pdf/Garnaut_Chapter22.pdf (see also page 19)
6. Carbon Sequestration Potential on Agricultural Lands: A Review of Current Science and Available Practices
http://sustainableagriculture.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Soil_C_review_Kane_Dec_4-final-v4.pdf
7. Large-scale sequestration of atmospheric carbon via plant roots in natural and agricultural ecosystems: why and how. By
Douglas B. Kell
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3321694/
8. CSiTE (Carbon Sequestration in Terrestrial Ecosystems) Research Consortium – DOE
http://csite.ornl.gov/
9. CASMGS (Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse GaSes) – USDA
http://www.drdassociates.org/downloads/About%20CASMGS.pdf
10. GRACEnet (Greenhouse-gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network) – USDA
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/programs/programs.htm?np_code=212&docid=21223&page=1
11. NACP (North American Carbon Program) – NASA, DOE, USDA
http://www.nacarbon.org/nacp/index.html?
12. This Climate Solution Could Cool the Planet and Feed the World
http://ecowatch.com/2015/12/21/cool-planet-feed-world/
13. The 4 per 1000 – Carbon Sequestration in Soils for Food Security and the Climate
http://4p1000.org/understand
1.Professor Rattan Lal
Director, Carbon Management and Sequestration Center. Professor of Soil Science in the School of Environment and Natural
Resources at. Ohio State’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Recipient of prestigious Norman E. Borlaug
Award (2005) and the von Liebig Award (2006). Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Soil Science, Co-Editor-in-Chief of Soil
& Tillage Research. Past-President of the Soil Science Society of America. Fellow of the Soil Science Society of American, the
American Society of Agronomy, the Third World Academy of Sciences and the American Association for Advancement of
Science. He is a member of the U.S. National Committee of Soil Science, and was a lead author on the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change and the U.N. Millennium Assessment.
Maharishi University of Managment
Sustainable Living Department
www.mum.edu