Soil Regeneration for Healthy Farms and

Resiliency ACORN Conference Charlottetown, PEI

November 23- 25, 2015

Ruth Knight – Organic Consultant Inc

Soil is weathered rock materials (sand, silt and clay) that are – or have been – in contact with plant roots

Green plants capture sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2) and turn weathered rock minerals into soil

Fertile topsoil is a product of

photosynthesis and microbial resynthesis

Photosynthesis

“Photo” = Light

“Synthesis” = Putting together

“Making Life from Light”

Photosynthesis

forms the basis

of the pyramid

of life not soil

Soil

Roots, Microbes

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Green plants, Light, CO2

known mycorrhizal fungi and free living nitrogen-fixing since 1890's

microbes are plant dependent

most microbes are plant dependent

Physical

Chemical

Biological

Animals

Plants

SOIL

Soil

Roots, Microbes

PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Green plants, Light, CO2

mm

rudy garcia

2012

Soil Macroaggregates: formed by a healthy soil healthy

Coarse Sand: 1.0 - 0.5 mm Med. Sand: 0.5 - 0.25 mm Fine Sand: 0.25 - 0.10 mm

Silt: 0.05 - 0.002 mm Clay: < 0.002 mm

Med. Sand

Fine sand

Soil Microaggregates: consisting of silt, clay, humus, iron & aluminum oxides, lime (i.e., depending on soil pH), precipitated minerals (e.g. calcium phosphate).

Root Hairs: 0.01- 0.05 mm dia.

Soil Microaggregates: < 0.25 mm dia.

(Large Aggregates: > 2 – 5 mm dia.)

Fine feeder root: (≈ 0.3 mm dia.)

Mycorrhizal fungi: (0.002 – 0.007 mm dia.) Hyphae can grow 5 – 15 cm from the root. Glomalin coats & aggregates the soil particles.

Water held between the aggregates.

Soil Pore

(RH ≈ 100%)

Bacterial Colonies (Bacteria:

0.0005 - 0.005 mm dia.)

(3.2 mm ≈ 1/8 inch) mm

mm

Micropores (< 0.06 mm

dia.)

Particulate Organic

Matter

Rhizosphere

(Ref. NRCS Soil Quality Indicators)

RH

= R

ela

tiv

e

Hu

mid

ity

Rh

izo

sph

ere

Sand

Coarse Sand

The Blue background is

water held in the aggregate.

Clay coating

on sand.

85% to 90% of plant nutrient acquisition is mediated by microbes

without microbes plants starve unless we fertilize them

without plants microbes starve

microbes feed on liquid carbon

Liquid carbon pathway regenerates soil

photosynthesis

translocation to roots

transfer to soil

Humification

C ~ 60% N ~ 6-8% P ~ 1-2%

S ~ 0.8-1.5%

Organo-mineral complex

(ie carbon plus minerals)

non labile (stable) carbon -resistant to breakdown by microbes

increases water holding capacity, increases structural stability and increases resiliency

increases macro and micro minerals - improving nutrient density

all by increasing photosynthetic capacity and rate

Increase photosynthetic capacity – green plants, living roots 24/7

Gruver, Joel http://www.slideshare.net/jbgruver/

Increase photosynthetic rate - reduce synthetic N and P, increased availability of N and P displaces the microbes that synthesize N and P, the increase in N changes C:N ratio lead to reduction of carbon while microbes breakdown nitrogen,

Nitrogen has to be biologically fixed in order to sequester carbon in stable form

When the liquid carbon pathway is operating largest increases in soil carbon will around the actively growing roots (usually at 30 to 40cm depth). Versus Surface carbon is labile carbon.

Decomposition Pathway

Photosynthesis

Biomass production

Decomposition

CO2

Organic Matter

Organic matter – Lose CO2

Labile = not stable

Humification Pathway

Photosynthesis

Translocation to roots

Translocation to soil/ microbes

Humus

Humus – Increase C

Non Labile = Stable

Gruver, Joel http://www.slideshare.net/jbgruver/

1. Minimize soil disturbance - tillage

2. Keep soil covered 24/7

3. Living roots as long as possible

4. Diversity

5. Integrate livestock

6. Manage Farmscape for other ecological services -

pollinators, wildlife, community

Nutrition

Immunity

Happiness (Love)

Ref Farmacology: Dr Daphne Miller, M.D. 2013

Nutrient cycle – more microbial diversity and more nutrition in food

Fruit and Soil Quality of Organic and Conventional Strawberry Agroecosystems John P. Reganold et al, Plos September 1, 2010 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012346

Soil Ecology and Ecosystem Services, Oxford Press 2012 Edited Diana H Wall et al, Chapter 3.3 Antunes et al.

Nutrient cycle - soil bacteria genes transfer to gut biome and aid digestion

Transfer of carbohydrate-active enzymes from marine bacteria to Japanese gut microbiota

Jan-Hendrik Hehemann et al. Nature 464, 908-912 (8 April 2010)

Connection - Biome

Soil

Microbes

Plants

People

Animals

Immunity cycle Loss of biodiversity increases incidence of asthma and allergies, including depression

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Farm living: effects on childhood asthma and allergy Erika von Mutius & Donata Vercelli Nature Reviews Immunology 10, 861-868 (December 2010) - Dr Erika von Mutius, Asthma and Allergy Dept. Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital University of Munich, Germany.

Mood cycle LOVE - Mycobacterium vaccae, soil bacterium used in cancer treatment found to lower depression

ingested stimulates release of serotonin – antidepressant

More diversity of microbes = more happiness

Happy Farmers – Happy Food

crop/soil management that maintains or improves the function of microbes and ability to facilitate microbial synthesis of nutrients - inoculation and/or mediating with management for endemic microbes for enhanced crop nutrient

crop breeding to recognize AM fungi responsiveness - Dr Wendy Taheri PhD AM trained fungi taxonomy - Terra Nimbus independent lab to screen seeds for AM responsiveness

NRCS: Manage for Soil Carbon

That generations to

come will thank us for

how we manage our

farmscapes.