Welcome to part 6 of our mini series promoting #WorldSoilDay on 5th December 2021. Here we look at how soils help climate change. This is part of our series on Growing Sustainably.
You can find all content in this mini series at Mini Series: #WorldSoilDay 2021 Salt Affected Soils.
If you already know that you have the power to improve soils and help climate change by making conscious buying decisions, here are the options:
- Check out #VoteWithOurMoney with 6 Steps to Help Stop Climate Change
- Try the Sustainability Roadmap with 40+ Solutions to Climate Change
- Use the Company Directory to Help You Grow, Eat, and Live Sustainably
If you want some more facts before making any decisions, let’s get into the details:
The source is content for this article is fao.org/3/bb018e/bb018e.pdf.
Part 5 of this mini series covered Soils as the Foundation for Food and Medicinal Products. This time we’re looking at how soils help to combat and adapt to climate change.
Healthy Soils Provide the Largest Store of Terrestrial Carbon.
Poorly Managed Soils
If soils are managed poorly or cultivated through unsustainable agricultural practices, more soil carbon can be released into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2) than is being stored in the soil, which can contribute to climate change.
Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry and fisheries have nearly doubled over the past 50 years (1965 to 2015). Without greater efforts to reduce them, they could increase an additional 30% by 2050.
Climate Change Represents a Serious Threat to Global Food Security
The steady conversion of grassland and forestland to cropland and grazing lands has resulted in historic losses of soil carbon worldwide. Land-use conversions and drainage of organic soils for cultivation are responsible for about 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Soils and the Carbon Cycle
The carbon cycle is the exchange of carbon (in various forms, e.g., CO2) between the atmosphere, ocean, terrestrial biosphere and geological deposits.
Plants use CO2 from the atmosphere, water from the soil, and sunlight to make their own food and grow in a process called photosynthesis. Some of the carbon they absorb from the air becomes part of the plant and some is pumped into the soil to feed microorganisms in exchange for microorganisms making nutrients available for plants to be healthy.
Animals that feed on the plants pass the carbon compounds along the food chain. Most of the carbon the animals consume is converted into CO2 as they breathe (respiration), and is released back into the atmosphere.
When the animals and plants die, the dead organisms are eaten by decomposers in the soil (bacteria and fungi) and the carbon in their bodies is again returned to the atmosphere as CO2.
In some cases, the dead plants and animals are buried and turn into fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, over millions of years. Humans burn fossil fuels to create energy, which sends most of the carbon back into the atmosphere in the form of CO2.
But, in regeneratively managed soils, more carbon is stored in the soil than is released into the atmosphere.
Sustainably Managed Soils Help Climate Change
When managed sustainably soils can play an important role in climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration (C) and by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. However, it’s important to note that we can’t ‘sustain’ soils that are already degraded; we have to regenerate soils before being able to sustain them. That’s where regenerative agriculture comes in.
By restoring degraded soils and adopting soil conservation practices there is major potential to decrease the emission of greenhouse gases from agriculture, enhance carbon sequestration, and build resilience to climate change.
You Can Improve Soils and Reverse Climate Change
I realised that the decisions I make when buying healthy food, give me the power to help climate change, encourage farmers to switch from degenerative to regenerative agriculture, and improve the health and happiness of my family.
Advocating for regenerative agriculture can seem completely removed from our day to day lives, however, the questions we ask in food shops, the healthy food we buy, and the conscious choices we make are all reminders that we have the power to improve our future and the health of planet earth.
Check-out our 10-part mini series on Conscious Buying Decisions to Help Climate Change with an article going live every week starting from 18th November 2021. You can also get the audio version by subscribing to our podcast or the video version by subscribing to our YouTube channel.
About World Soil Day 2021
Soil salinization and sodification are major soil degradation processes threatening ecosystem and are recognized as being among the most important problems at a global level for agricultural production, food security, and sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions. World Soil Day 2021 (#WorldSoilDay) and its campaign “Halt soil salinization, boost soil productivity” aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, fighting soil salinization, increasing soil awareness, and encouraging societies to improve soil health.
Find Out More at UN FAO World Soil Day
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Suggested Reading
If you like the topic of this mini series, you might be interested in these reading suggestions with links to each book on Amazon.
Find Kiss the Ground by Josh Tickell Here on Amazon*
Find Soil Will Save Us by Kristin Ohlson Here on Amazon*
Find Soil, Grass, Hope by Courtney White Here on Amazon*
Find Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild by Markegard and Doniga Here on Amazon*
Find Diet for a Hot Planet by Anna Lappé Here on Amazon*
Find Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life by David Montgomery Here on Amazon*
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Where Next?
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- Read Our Articles
- Sign-Up to Our Free Email Newsletter
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- Use the Company Directory
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Sources Used to Create This Piece
Production Notes
This was produced by me, James Walters, as a personal project to help stop climate change by inspiring others to grow, eat, and live sustainably.
Any advice given is the opinion of those involved and does not constitute medical, financial, or legal advice.
* We include links we think you will find useful. If you buy through those links, we may earn a small commission. It’s one way to support our work and to inspire as many people as possible.