what is soil science in agriculture essay

• What is Soil Science?

Soil science is the study of the properties of soil on the Earth’s surface including classification of soil, soil formation, and mapping. It also involves the utilization of soil and soil management. Soil science consists of two divisions: pedology and edaphology. Pedology includes the chemistry of soil formation, its classification, and morphology. Edaphology, on the other hand, is the study of soil effects on living organisms, especially plants. Many professionals have been associated with the field of soil science. They include microbiologists, archaeologists, chemists, engineers, and physical geographers among others.

Branches of Soil Science

Soil forms part of the pedosphere (on the Earth’s crust). The main branches of soil science as indicated above are edaphology and pedology. Both divisions address soil physics, chemistry, and biology. The pedosphere experiences numerous contacts with the atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere. The interactions make soil science a very integrated and broad field of study in science.

Soil Classification

Soil classification is the arrangement of soil into different classes regarding similarity in characteristics and behavior. For example, to classify soil in terms of mechanical properties, permeability, strength, and stiffness will be measured. The primary features of soil will take into consideration the size and shape of soil structure, grains, and composition.

Soil Formation

The process of forming soil is known as pedogenesis. The initial composition of soil begins from the “parent material” (rocks) which is either below or above the ground level. Several climatic conditions play essential roles in the rate and formation of soil. The rocks wear out over time if blown away by wind or transported by flowing water or glaciers and eventually separate to form layers. Water washing apart exposed soil particles can be in the form of rainfall or flowing rivers. Rainfall water washes away topsoil in a process known as erosion. Flowing rivers, on the other hand, transport particles of soil. Organisms such as earthworms play a role in soil formation by opening spaces in the earth crust known as pores and decomposes it in the process.

Soil Morphology

Soil morphology is a branch of soil science that describes the physical (observational) attributes of soil and its type on the soil horizons using internationally recognized means. In the past, the soil was described as heavy or light, sandy, saline, dry or moist, marshy, soft or compact, stony or sedimentary. Description of soil and its properties involves evaluating soil pH, texture, roots and pores, color, structure, effervescence, and much more.

Importance of Soil Science

Soil science has played a significant role in the agricultural development sector, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study of soil has managed to provide for human needs such as food production, which solely depends on the soil. The ultimate goal of studying soil science is to provide knowledge and sufficient information on soil formation and management for crop production. Another significant importance of soil science is to know the role of soil in the storage of water. Soil science enables one to understand the purposes of micro and macro organisms in the soil.

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Introduction to Soil Science

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Amber Anderson, Iowa State University

Copyright Year: 2023

Publisher: Iowa State University Digital Press

Language: English

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Getting started
• Soil physical properties
• Soil erosion
• Soil chemistry
• Soil management
• Soil Fertility
• Case studies
• Soil Geography

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This textbook introduces readers to the basics of soil science, including the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils; soil formation, classification, and global distribution; soil health, soils and humanity, and sustainable land management.

About the Contributors

Dr. Amber Anderson , Iowa State University

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Why are soils important?

Soil is our life support system. Soils anchor roots, hold water and store nutrients. Soils are home to earthworms, termites and a myriad of micro-organisms that fix nitrogen and decompose organic matter. We build on soil as well as with it.

Soil plays a vital role in the Earth’s ecosystem and without soil, human life would be very difficult.

Soil provides plants a foothold for their roots and holds the necessary nutrients for plants to grow. Soil filters the rainwater and regulates the discharge of excess rainwater, preventing flooding.  It also buffers against pollutants, thus protecting groundwater quality.

Soil is capable of storing large amounts of organic carbon. It is the largest terrestrial store of carbon. On average, the soil contains about three times more organic carbon than the vegetation and about twice as much carbon than is present in the atmosphere [ source ]. This is of particular importance in efforts to mitigate climate change. Carbon can come out of the atmosphere and be stored in the soil, helping to re-balance the global carbon budget.

Soil provides people with some essential construction and manufacturing materials: we build our houses with bricks made from clay and we drink coffee from mugs that are essentially baked soil (clay). Water is served in a glass made from sand (silicon dioxide).

Rocks and minerals come to mind as the basis of soil material, however the soil also hosts a great deal of living organisms. The biodiversity of visible and microscopic life which uses the soil as their home is vast. The soil is one of the planet’s great reservoirs of undiscovered microorganisms and therefore genetic material which can become the basis of other scientific research such as developing new medicines.

Soil is also an archive. It presents a record of past environmental conditions by storing natural artifacts from past ecosystems like pollen. Many artifacts from human history are also stored underground, which archeologists carefully uncover and use to understand how civilizations have evolved.

Soil functions are general soil capabilities that are important for many areas of life including agriculture, environmental management, nature protection, landscape architecture and urban applications. Six key soil functions are:

• Food and other biomass production
• Environmental Interaction: storage, filtering, and transformation
• Biological habitat and gene pool
• Source of raw materials
• Physical and cultural heritage
• Platform for man-made structures: buildings, highways

This page has been archived and is no longer updated

What Are Soils?

Soils are dynamic and diverse natural systems that lie at the interface between earth, air, water, and life. They are critical ecosystem service providers for the sustenance of humanity. The improved conservation and management of soils is among the great challenges and opportunities we face in the 21st century.

Soil is... a Recipe with Five Ingredients

Soil is a material composed of five ingredients — minerals, soil organic matter, living organisms, gas, and water. Soil minerals are divided into three size classes — clay , silt , and sand (Figure 1); the percentages of particles in these size classes is called soil texture . The mineralogy of soils is diverse. For example, a clay mineral called smectite can shrink and swell so much upon wetting and drying (Figure 2) that it can knock over buildings. The most common mineral in soils is quartz; it makes beautiful crystals but it is not very reactive. Soil organic matter is plant, animal, and microbial residues in various states of decomposition; it is a critical ingredient — in fact the percentage of soil organic matter in a soil is among the best indicators of agricultural soil quality (http://soils.usda.gov/sqi/) (Figure 3). Soil colors range from the common browns, yellows, reds, grays, whites, and blacks to rare soil colors such as greens and blues.

Soils are... Big

You may be surprised to hear " dirt " described as "big". However, in the late 1800's soil scientists began to recognize that soils are natural bodies with size, form, and history (Figure 4). Just like a water body has water, fish, plants, and other parts, a soil body is an integrated system containing soil, rocks, roots, animals, and other parts. And just like other bodies, soil systems provide integrated functions that are greater than the sum of their parts.

Soils are... Young to Very, Very Old

Soils are... diverse.

• Plinthite — which hardens irreversibly upon repeated wetting and drying (Figure 8a).
• Sulfidic — a horizon containing pyrite which, upon exposure to oxygen, can produce so much sulfuric acid that it kills plants and can cause fish kills (Figure 8b).
• Petrocalcic — in which so much calcium carbonate is accumulated that it literally forms a rock-like layer in the middle of a soil (Figure 8c).

Soils... Communicate

• O - Horizon containing a high percentage of soil organic matter.
• A - Horizon darkened by the accumulation of organic matter.
• E - Horizon formed through the removal ( eluviation ) of clays, organic matter, iron, or aluminum. Usually lightened in color due to these removals.
• B - Broad class used for subsurface horizons that have been transformed substantially by a soil formation process such as color and structure development; the deposition ( illuviation ) of materials such as clays, organic matter, iron, aluminum, carbonates, or gypsum; carbonate or gypsum loss; brittleness and high density; or intense weathering leading to the accumulation of weathering-resistant minerals.
• C - A horizon minimally affected or unaffected by the soil formation processes.
• R - Bedrock.

These master horizons may then be further annotated to give additional information about the horizon. Lower case letters can be placed as suffixes following the master horizon letter to give additional information about soil characteristics or soil formation processes. For example, the lower case "t" on the B horizon in Figure 9 indicates that the horizon is characterized by illuvial clay accumulation. Multiple letters can be used — Figure 8c depicts a Bkm horizon meaning that it is cemented (m) by illuvial carbonates (k). Numbers placed before the master horizon name (e.g., 2Bt) indicate a difference in parent material; numbers placed at the end of a horizon name are used to subdivide horizons that have the same designation but are different in some way (e.g., a red Bt1 over a yellow Bt2).

Soils are... Biological Bliss

Soils are... fertile.

Soils are the primary provider of nutrients and water for much of the plant life on earth. There are 18 elements considered essential for plant growth, most of which are made available to plants through root uptake from soils (Brady & Weil 2007). Soils retain nutrients by several mechanisms. Most nutrients are dissolved in soil water as either positively or negatively charged ions; soil particles are also charged and thereby are able to electrically hold these ions. Soils also hold nutrients by retaining the soil water itself.

Arguably the greatest of all the ecosystem services provided by soils is the retention of water — without soils our land would be little but rocky deserts. Plants use much more water than one might think because they are constantly releasing water into the atmosphere as a result of transpiration, which is a component of the process of photosynthesis. Clay and silt particles are the primary mineral components in soils that retain water — these small particles slow the drainage of water and, like a sponge, physically hold water through capillary forces. Clay provides such strong force that plants can't pull all the water away from it, which makes silt particles the ultimate ingredient for plant-available water storage — they hold large quantities of water but also release it to plant roots (Figure 3).

Soils are... Clay Factories

Soils are... service providers, soils are... degrading and polluted, soils are... home, soils are... a profession.

activity - A general term used to describe how chemically reactive a particle is with ions, water, and other particles.

clay - A mineral particle smaller than 0.002 mm.

clay synthesis - Clays are formed in soils through the transformation of existing clays or through the generation of entirely new clay particles from ions precipitating from solution.

desertification - The transformation of a non-arid landscape to an arid landscape, usually through a combination of climate changes and human-induced soil degradation.

dirt - 1. synonym for soil material; 2. soil out of place; 3. unclean material of any composition.

eluviation - The removal of materials such as clays, organic matter, iron, or aluminum from a horizon.

erosion - The surface removal of soil material from soils by the action of water or wind.

eutrophication - A process of excess algal growth that leads to oxygen depletion; often caused by excess nutrient inputs.

factors of soil formation - Factors from which soil scientists are able to predict the end result of soil formation processes: climate, organisms, topography, parent material, and time.

gas regulation - The absorption and release of gases that mediates the levels of these gases in the atmosphere.

illuviation - The deposition of materials such as clays, organic matter, iron, or aluminum into a horizon; generally the materials come from an upper horizon in the soil body.

leaching - The removal of dissolved ions from a soil.

natural bodies - Systems that form in nature with size, form, and history that act as in an integrated fashion to provide functions that differ from the sum of their parts.

remediate - To transform a chemical from a toxic form or state to a non-toxic form or state.

salinization - A build up of salts in soils to the point that they destroy the soil's physical and chemical properties and plants are not able to take up water due to the high salt concentration; often associated with improper irrigation.

sand - A mineral particle ranging in size from 0.02 to 2 mm.

silt - A mineral particle ranging in size from 0.002 to 0.02 mm.

soil - 1. A material composed of minerals, living organisms, soil organic matter, gas, and water. 2. A body composed of soil and other parts such as rocks, roots, and animals that has size, form, and history and provides integrated functions that are greater than the sum of its parts.

soil horizon - Layer present within soil bodies that are distinguishable from other layers; often generated through soil formation processes.

soil organic matter - Plant, animal, and microbial residues, in various states of decomposition.

soil texture - The percentages of sand, silt, and clay particles in a soil.

soil quality - The capacity of a soil to provide desirable ecosystem services.

transpiration - Evaporation of water from openings in plant tissues called stomata; associated with photosynthesis.

weathering - Physical, chemical, and biological processes that breakdown and transform rocks and minerals.

References and Recommended Reading

Ahrens, R. J. & Arnold, R. W. "Soil taxonomy," in Handbook of Soil Science , ed. M. Summer (CRC Press, 2000) E117-E135.

Brady, N. C. & Weil, R. R. T he Nature and Properties of Soils, 14th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2008.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Guidelines for Soil Description, 4th ed. FAO, Rome, 2006. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/a0541e/a0541e00.pdf

Haygarth P. M. & Ritz, K. The future of soils and land use in the UK: Soil systems for the provision of land-based ecosystem services. Land Use Policy 26S:S187-S197, 2009.

Jenny, H. The Factors of Soil Formation: A System of Quantitative Pedology . New York, NY: Dover Press, 1941.

Soil Survey Division Staff. Soil Survey Manual . Soil Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Handbook 18, 1993. http://soils.usda.gov/technical/manual/

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Soil and Water: Why We Need Conservation Agriculture 

On May 1, 2023, a devastating dust storm  – the result of severe wind erosion –  propelled soil across highway I-55, causing numerous accidents, injuries, and loss of life. The factors that led to this erosion event were excessive tillage, exposed soils, and windy conditions. In response, the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation published an article proposing a “ Soil Health Act ,” to improve conservation agriculture policy.  

Most erosion is a direct result of human activities, such as leaving the soil bare for extended periods and excessive tillage in agricultural fields. Extreme weather events exacerbate soil erosion, with large wind erosion events damaging crops and causing air pollution in nearby communities. Water erosion can strip productive topsoil from cropland, reducing crop productivity and depositing sediment in water bodies. The Fifth National Climate Assessment further confirms that extreme weather is on the rise.

The United States boasts some of the most productive soils globally, particularly in the Midwest region, known as the corn belt. This vast expanse of farmland, which drains into the Mississippi River and eventually reaches the Gulf of Mexico, is a crucial part of our country’s agricultural landscape. However, this network of soil and water, while offering significant benefits, also poses significant challenges if not properly cared for.

Map of U.S. major agriculture cropland areas in dark green. These regions also have highly productive soils. The Midwest soils of Iowa, southern Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, southern Wisconsin, and Ohio are globally significant breadbasket soils. (Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2017).

Wind erosion in the left photo is active in many regions of the country, leading to poor soil conditions for agricultural production. Water erosion takes productive topsoil and applied fertilizers and chemical products used off cropland as it heads toward streams. (Source: Jodie McVane (left) and Rodale Institute (right))

Fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and other products can enter water sources through two primary pathways: soil and chemical losses. Chemical losses can contaminate groundwater by moving down through the soil profile. Contaminated groundwater flows into private and public water supply wells , with many wells having high nitrate levels from commercial fertilizers and animal applications of manure. Nitrates can pose health risks to infants, cause toxic anemia, and how red blood cells deliver oxygen to the cells and tissues. In adults, reproductive health issues and certain cancers are also possible. And it’s not just nitrates: Atrazine, a common chemical used to control weeds, is found in many drinking wells across the U.S.

When soil erodes it takes nitrates, atrazine, and other contaminants away from land surfaces and into surface waterways, leading to water quality problems and soil sediment pollution. Many land managers try to avoid creating runoff, but agricultural practices leaving soils exposed with no plant residues and erosive storms make this a common occurrence. Soil erosion impacts can also be experienced as sedimentation and murky waters in recreational water bodies, roads covered with mud, and dirty snow covered with wind-blown soils, all of which affect everyday life and are undesirable for fish and plants. The lack of soil protection during the non-crop growing season in the U.S. has caused soil erosion and degradation of precious resources, diminishing the ability to grow food, fiber, and wood and provide clean water. Thus, erosion affects long-term production and economic viability for farms.

Protecting Our Soils Through Conservation Agriculture

Fortunately, we can find solutions through conservation agriculture–a system of farming practices, which includes cover crops and reduced tillage, that protects soil and prevents both soil and chemical losses. Growing plants year-round can address soil loss by keeping the soil covered with plants known as cover crops like corn, soybean, and cotton. Others, like grasses, legumes, and forbs can be grown for seasonal cover. Reduced tillage from cover crops can be beneficial in several different ways:

They control erosion , build healthy soils, and improve water quality. Cover crops planted during these periods can scavenge unused fertilizers from the previous crop and prevent nutrients from reaching surface and groundwater systems. Reducing tillage or switching to no-till cropping systems can also increase soil structure and aid in water infiltration, helping water get into the soil instead of running off.

When soils have many soil organisms with a favorable habitat, they can break down chemical pollutants effectively before reaching groundwater. Cover crops can also play a vital role in absorbing nitrates or other contaminants. Studies have shown that cover crops can reduce nitrates by 48% before they reach subsurface waters. Reduced tillage can provide habitats for these organisms by reducing soil disturbance. 

Cover crops capture sunlight and use plants’ photosynthetic processes to capture carbon in plant shoots and root systems. Much carbon is stored in our soils through plant roots. When the plants die, their roots remain in the soil, keeping the carbon sequestered. Excessive tillage breaks soil structure and releases carbon. Reduced tillage and no-till cropping systems allow soils to better maintain their carbon content.

Diverse cover crop species can be mixed, which leads to the diversification of plant roots and above-ground biomass. Furthermore, diversity above ground also means diversity below ground for soil organisms. Grasses can also be utilized alone to effectively suppress weeds and protect against erosion. Cover crops can capture carbon and increase carbon storage in soils, so planting cover crops yearly is important. (Source: Jodie McVane)

Federal and State Government Incentives to Expand Conservation Agricultural Practices     

Overall, cover crop use is low in the United States and varies depending on established social norms, soils, climate, primary crops, outreach programs, and conservation technical assistance. According to the USDA Economic Research Service , cover crop use increased from 3.4% of U.S. cropland in 2012 to 5.1% in 2017. The increase is positive, but millions of cropland acres can still benefit from applying cover crops and reduced tillage. While the use of conservation agriculture is an individual land manager’s choice and overall cover crop remains low, the USDA report notes that there has been some progress and positive trends. Continued incentives from both federal and state governments will be crucial to encourage wide adoption of conservation agricultural practices. 

Many USDA programs provide cost-sharing incentives to farmers who voluntarily encourage using cover crops, reducing tillage, planting grasslands, and diversifying crop rotations. The Farm Bill provides funding to assist farmers through the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). In addition to the Farm Bill, the Inflation Reduction Act provided additional funds to USDA-NRCS through these same programs to promote Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry Mitigation activities. The Inflation Reduction Act makes nearly $20 billion additional dollars available over five years for these programs. Current federal policy allows these programs to fund conservation practices for 3-5 years on a typical farm. Some states are also leading in incentivizing land managers to apply cover crops. States providing monetary incentives include Maryland, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and Virginia.

A mix of cover crops of grasses and broadleaves in the fall after a corn crop in the Midwest. (left photo) A cereal ryegrass cover crop holds the soil in place with fibrous root systems and protects the soil surface from water or wind erosion while suppressing weeds. (right photo) (Source: Jodie McVane)

Current Gaps and Proposed Policies

We will need lasting policies and sustainable funding  to ensure the long-term adoption of conservation agricultural practices. Current voluntary conservation programs only provide funding for a 5-year period, which does not guarantee that farmers will permanently transition to conservation agriculture practices.

The federal government should incentivize the adoption of soil health practices and conservation agriculture widely across the United States in three ways:     

Fund organizations that can provide educational events for farmers, consultants, policy groups, and consumers. These organizations are valuable and promote farmer-led education and peer-to-peer mentoring. Farmers enjoy learning from other farmers along with research experts.

Reward farmers who adopt conservation agriculture systems by providing long-term payments for continued use of conservation practices. Farmers who adopt these practices would benefit from their ecosystem services, such as building soil carbon, improving water quality, maintaining stable soil structure, and increasing water infiltration, which could significantly impact the health of our cropland acres.

Provide a reduction-based premium discount in the Federal Crop Insurance program for agricultural commodity producers that use risk-reduction farming practices, including cover crops. A discount on the insurance premium can have a lasting effect and provide a continued financial incentive to perform conservation on farms. 

Soil is the foundation of our national health, providing food, homes, fibers, and the structural foundations for everyday life. Soils filter water for clean drinking, safe fishing, and other recreational activities, enabling our farms, factories, homes, schools, universities, and state and federal governments to access clean water; the widespread adoption of conservation agricultural practices to protect soils is key to ensuring food security for current and future generations in the United States. Healthy soils can protect not only our national treasure but also our national security and ability to care for our citizens. 

As President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” Imagine driving around the country and seeing continuous vegetation growing, protecting soils, capturing carbon, and protecting our water resources. It would be a different landscape in our nation and, over the years, could improve the culture of agriculture.

The Federation of American Scientists values diversity of thought and believes that a range of perspectives — informed by evidence — is essential for discourse on scientific and societal issues. Contributors allow us to foster a broader and more inclusive conversation. We encourage constructive discussion around the topics we care about.

Global episodes of extreme heat intensify water shortages caused by extended drought and overpumping. Creating actionable solutions to the challenges of a warming planet requires cooperation across all water consumers.

The federal government should create a Reduce, Repurpose, Recharge Initiative (RRRI): a voluntary program designed to keep farmers engaged in groundwater conservation in the Ogallala Aquifer.

The Biden Administration should announce its intention to achieve net-zero soil loss by 2050.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) should prioritize funding water projects for local governments that would expand the production of new housing in their service areas if given the water resources to do so. 

What is the importance of soil science in Agribusiness?

Agricultural soil science studies the physical, chemical, biological and mineralogical composition of soil by conducting research in soil classification, tillage,irrigation and drainage, plant nutrition,soil fertility and other areas related to agriculture that benefit agribusiness .

Soil Science

Soil is mixture of different material including minerals, rock, water and air that lies on top of the land containing living and dead matter. Soil science is the study of natural resource on the Earth surface called soil which includes soil classification, formation and mapping along with chemical, biological, physical and fertility properties of soils in relation to soil management. The branch of soil science involving chemistry, formation, morphology and classification of soil is pedology while edaphology includes influence of soil on microorganisms and plants. The classification and nomenclature is based on physical and chemical properties in layers or horizons of soil. Soil Taxonomy in soil classification system uses color, structure, texture and other properties related to soil surface. Soil scientists are qualified to evaluate soil and interpret soil related data for the purpose of understanding soil resources in agricultural production, environmental quality and management or protection of environmental and human health. They also conduct research in soil classification, tillage,drainage and irrigation, soil fertility, plant nutrition and other related areas.

Importance in Agribusiness

Soilis a medium for plant growth, habitat for different species, filtration system for surface water and maintenance of atmospheric gases. Soil sustains life by providing food in form of essential minerals and nutrients; water and air to help survival and growth of plants, worms, fungi and bacteria. Soil not only soaks useful water and prevents the evaporation from the surface but also initiates crop growth, bio-materials production, anchor roots, allows transport of water and nutrients to the soil interface and roots of plants.Soil filters water to help in regulating the earth’s temperature and important greenhouse gases . It also provides the foundation for basic ecosystem function promoted by advances in natural resource and environmental sciences. Study of soil resources is critical to the environment, food and fibre production. Understanding techniques to improve soil conservation like cover crops, crop rotation, planted wind breaks and conservation tillage that affect both soil fertility and erosion are also important.

Soil plays an important role in farm ecosystem by providing nutrients essential for the growth of agricultural and horticultural crops. Fertile soil is rich in nutrients and water highly suitable for agriculture and serves as the primary nutrient base for healthy crops. Rich soil contains pH and primary plant nutrients like, nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium because of its previous or decaying content of organic matter along with minor nutrients that help in plant growth. Some of functions associated with soil include ;nutrient cycling; water regulation; ecological role in providing plant growth medium, recycling organic wastes and nutrients, modifying the atmosphere, water supply and purification, habitat for soil organisms and other normal processes that occur in the ecosystem to benefit water quality, food production and flood control that improves the economy and quality of life. Important benefits of soil include natural protector of seeds and plants; dispersal and germination of seeds within soil ecosystem; physical support system for plants; retaining and delivery of nutrients to crops.

Online Course at JLI

James Lind Institute (JLI) will soon be launching Agriculture related courses to understand on modern agricultural practices.

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Jessica Rawnsley

The Rise of the Carbon Farmer

Patrick Holden strolls across the field, pausing from time to time to bend and point out a bumblebee, or a white butterfly, or a dung beetle. A wide expanse of blue sky stretches above. Beneath, undulating green hills, sprawling hedgerows, a horizon broken only by the jagged tips of Wales’ Cambrian mountain range. Sun-soaked goodness.

“Can you see that bumblebee working the clover?” he asks, voice breathy with exertion. “The bird life, insects, butterflies, small mammals, and bats ... the biodiversity of this place is unbelievable.” This is all here, he says, because he’s farming in harmony with nature.

The secret to this small oasis, Holden says, is the way he works his land. He is one of a growing number of farmers shaking off conventional methods and harnessing practices to rebuild soil health and fertility—cover crops, minimal tilling, managed grazing, diverse crop rotations. It is a reverse revolution in some ways, taking farming back to what it once was, when yield was not king, industrialization not the norm, and small farms dabbled in many things rather than specializing in one.

Holden’s main crops are oats and peas, sown in rotation with grassland to build soil fertility. These are then turned into a “muesli” used as additional feed for his grass-fed cattle and his pigs. The pigs’ manure fertilizes the land. The glossy Ayrshire cows are milked and the milk curdled into the farm’s award-winning cheddar cheese. Woven through everything is the intention to work with and mimic nature.

The purported benefits are profound: Healthy soil retains water and nutrients, supports biodiversity, reduces erosion, and produces nutritious food. But there’s one other, critical gain in our rapidly warming world: these farming methods suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it back in the soil. As well as making cheese, Holden, with his regenerative practices, farms carbon.

Soil is second only to the ocean in its carbon-absorbing capacity—it holds more than the atmosphere and all the planet’s plants and forests combined. But centuries of damaging, industrialized agriculture have left the earth depleted and spewed ton of CO 2 into the ether.

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, many cultivated soils have lost 50 to 70 percent of their original carbon. By some counts , a third of the excess CO 2 in the atmosphere started life in the soil, having been released not by burning fossil fuels but by changing how the planet’s land is used.

“People ask, ‘Where is the excess carbon coming from?’ It’s where we’ve destroyed the soil,” says Elaine Ingham, an American soil microbiologist and the founder of Soil Food Web, an organization that teaches growers how to regenerate their soil. “Every time you till, you lose 50 percent of soil organic matter ,” she says, referring to the compounds that lock carbon into the earth.

Exactly how much carbon soils can hold isn’t agreed on, and estimates vary widely on the potential impact of regenerative farming. For instance, the Rodale Institute, a regenerative agriculture nonprofit , has looked at peer-reviewed research and agronomists’ observations and concluded that regenerative agriculture, if adopted globally, could sequester 100 percent of annual carbon emissions.

Matt Burgess

Steven Levy

Other experts are more cautious in their predictions. “It’s very difficult to know for sure what’s possible in principle as well as what’s possible in practice,” says John Crawford, a professor of strategy and technology at Glasgow University in the UK and the lead of the Global Soil Health Program. “What is affordable? What kind of incentives would be required to enable farmers to farm in this way? There are a whole bunch of uncertainties.”

Nevertheless, Crawford thinks regenerative agriculture could have a big impact if widely applied. “It’s been estimated that around 20 percent of current global emissions would be very hard to abate,” he says, referring to things like heavy industry and aviation where decarbonization with renewable energy isn’t a straightforward option. He reckons better strategies for working the world’s soil could mitigate about half of these hard-to-eradicate emissions.

Even modest improvements in farming would amount to big gains. Jacqueline Glade, the former chief scientist at the UN Environment Program, has calculated that using better farming to store 1 percent more carbon in half of the world’s agricultural soils would be enough to absorb about 31 gigatons of CO 2 a year—which would pretty much plug the gap between current planned emissions reductions and what actually needs to be slashed by 2030 to stay within 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming.

Even if the exact amount of carbon that can be stored in soil isn’t clear, there would be other benefits—of that, Crawford is confident. He set out a decade ago to understand how soils function—what enables them to maintain a mixture of air and water across a wide range of climatic conditions and thus support microbial and plant life.

He discovered that soil’s secret sauce is carbon. The more in the soil, the greater its resilience to erosion, flooding, and drought, and the greater the yields for farmers. And numerous studies (from the likes of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to the United Nations ) illustrate that the best way to achieve this is through regenerative methods. “People have been farming that way for millennia,” Crawford says. “You could say it’s just good practice. If you follow those principles, you will improve soil health. I see the evidence.” So does Holden, in the flourishing wildlife that calls his land home.

But a wide-scale shift to carbon-absorbing practices would be dramatic—the majority of farmers would need to change how they work. And with most farmers operating on wafer-thin margins, embattled by climate change and demands for cheap food, and the victims of price shocks passed down the supply chain, the transition remains unpalatable, or simply unfeasible, for many.

Holden, though, has a strategy for getting farmers to transition. “Pay them to be carbon stewards. Why do you think the farming system that I represent hasn’t gone to scale? Money.” Currently, he argues, industrialized, intensive systems pay better—what’s needed are redirected subsidies to ensure farming and nature can coexist in a field and homogenized annual sustainability audits that reward farmers for generating “public goods” like improvements in food quality, biodiversity, and carbon stores.

“My farm’s been farmed organically for 51 years,” says Holden. “I’ve built up soil carbon, my operation is now carbon-negative—if I was to switch to intensive methods then theoretically I could burn up that carbon stock. But if I was paid to be a carbon steward, I’m not going to do that.”

But this presents another hurdle: It’s tricky to accurately measure a soil’s carbon content—which is integral to doling out carbon credits. Various technologies exist, to varying degrees of accuracy and expense. Some companies use computer models; others, farmers’ self-reported practices.

Then there’s the concern over the potential hit to yields. “Most of the research shows that as you move to regenerative practices, there is about a three-year period where yields will drop,” says Crawford. One organization that measures this is Carbon Underground, a company created in 2014 to mitigate climate change by restoring soil blighted by industrial agriculture and rekindle its ability to absorb carbon.

Cofounder Larry Kopald says the group has found yields rarely drop by more than 5 percent and usually rebound quite quickly. Sometimes this means there is a shortfall for farmers; other times, there’s no financial loss due to the reduction of input costs, thanks to needing less fertilizer or fewer expensive bits of machinery. “The net-net to the farmer is often a better situation than they’re at now. And add to that the ability to monetize carbon drawdown,” says Kopald, referring to the potential to sell carbon offsets against sequestered carbon.

“What’s important now is not finding the solution, but scaling,” says Kopald. And this, he believes, is all about empowering the small farmer. “We think that industrial farms grow all of our food; 70 percent is grown by small farmers.”

Crawford, though, thinks what’s needed is bigger: “whole value-chain transformation”—big farmers, small farmers, and everyone that works with them. He has already set up a coalition of companies, which cumulatively had the “potential, the reach, the governance, and the resource to restore the health of 60 percent of the world’s agricultural soils,” he says, only for this to fail because of a lack of will. So in his opinion, a carrot-and-stick approach is needed—give farmers cash, but use legislation to force the rest of the supply chain to fall in line.

Carbon farming, ultimately, buys us time, Crawford believes. The world wants to get to net zero—by removing historic emissions from the atmosphere and neutralizing current ones—by 2050. None of the existing solutions for removing atmospheric carbon will scale fast enough to have an impact in the coming decades, Crawford says. This is why nature-based solutions are crucial.

“But they will run out,” he continues. Soil has a finite capacity; global soils cannot perpetually soak up carbon. “At some point, carbon stocks will be as high as they can get—anything more you add will just go back into the atmosphere. But this is the important point—we have no alternative for at least the next two decades. All I’m looking for is to buy about 20 years. We can do that with soil.”

The world needs protecting, now more than ever. But preserving the natural world and advancing human knowledge requires innovative and pioneering solutions. In this series, WIRED, in partnership with the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, highlights the individuals and communities working to solve some of our most pressing environmental and scientific challenges. Through the Perpetual Planet Initiative, Rolex supports those who go above and beyond to safeguard and preserve our planet for the next generations. #PerpetualPlanet #PlanetPioneers

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• Frontiers in Plant Science
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Symbiotic Interactions in Microbial-facilitated Vegetation Restoration and Agricultural Management

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The symbiotic relationships between plants and microbes underline many critical processes in soil nutrient cycling, indispensable for vegetation restoration and agricultural management. Plant growth is intricately linked to nutrient availability, with symbiotic microorganisms playing vital roles in facilitating nutrient absorption. Microorganisms decompose organic matter, releasing essential nutrients required by plants while benefitting from the optimal growth environment and nourishment provided by the latter. Moreover, microorganisms can convert waste into nutrient-rich fertilizers, thus enhancing soil fertility and subsequently boosting crop yield and quality. This Research Topic aims to delve into the complex interplay between plant nutrient absorption and the symbiotic function of microorganisms, highlighting its significance for both plant health and soil ecosystems. Key subjects to cover include the feedback loop between soil vegetation and microbial continuum, adaptive management of soil ecosystems, land degradation and restoration, sustainable agricultural development, and management practices. Through this exploration, our goal is to lay a solid scientific groundwork that could promote efficient plant recovery and biodiversity conservation, and address broader issues concerning soil health and ecosystem resilience. We welcome submissions of all article types accepted in Frontiers in Plant Science. Sub-topics of interest include the following but not limited to: • The symbiotic dynamic between plant diversity, microbial diversity, and the microbial food web. • Microbial enhancement of plant disease resistance and stress adaptation. • Contributions of microbial fertilizers to crop yield and sustainable agricultural management. • Microbial symbiosis solutions for ecosystem restoration and adaptive management strategies for sustainable agriculture and land resilience. • Mechanisms of microbial involvement in abiotic stress responses of crops.

Keywords : plant community, plant nutrient absorption, microbial biodiversity, soil nutrient, vegetation restoration, agricultural management, plant-microbe interactions, symbiosis

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