Building carbon in soil the new way of farming

Building carbon in soil the new way of farming

Building carbon in soil will improve the health of plants and animals and make farms more profitable, buffering them against variable climatic conditions, says Australian soils ecologist Dr Christine Jones.

Dr Jones will be talking to New Zealand farmers later this month at seminars in the North Island, followed by a two-day soil farming workshop in the lower South Island.

Dr Jones has been working with Australian farmers for 25 years to improve biological activity, water-holding capacity and productivity of their soil.

“There are currently thousands of farmers across Australia making the transition from conventional to biology friendly farming and I’m sure the trend is the same in New Zealand.

“The key to rebuilding soils is to increase the photosynthetic rate of plants so that more carbon is fixed, more glucose produced and more liquid carbon flows through to the soil biota. In return for the energy boost, the activated soil foodweb returns minerals, trace elements, vitamins and growth promoting substances to plants.”

“There are a wide range of practices that farmers can implement to increase photosynthetic capacity and photosynthetic rate of pastures and crops. In so doing, levels of soil biological activity and microbial diversity are enhanced. This not only improves soil structure and tilth, but also increases the nutrient density of the food produced.”

Dr Jones is the founder of the Australian Soil Carbon Accreditation Scheme (ASCAS), which has been running field trials in Western Australia for the last three years.

The purpose of ASCAS is to show that farmers can implement practices that increase soil carbon, that the increases can be easily and reliably measured and that farmers can be financially rewarded for their efforts. ASCAS is underwritten by a philanthropic trust and pays farmers $25 per tonne for CO2 sequestered in soil.

Dr Jones said as the soil chemistry adjusts to the new regime, the incidence of pests, weeds and diseases that proliferate when there are low levels of microbial diversity and high rates of water soluble nitrogen, begin to decline.

“Farmers can also cut costs by decreasing non-biological inputs” Dr Jones added.

Ideally, farmers could make their own bio-fertilisers, or arrange for these to be produced through regional collectives.

Dr Jones believes that impoverishment of soils across the world poses a far greater challenge than climate change.

“In many regions in Australia, the effects of lower than average rainfall over the past decade have been compounded by loss of soil resilience, reduced moisture holding capacity and reduced nutrient availability due to falling levels of soil carbon.

Declining soil carbon levels are due in part to the increased use of high analysis synthetic fertilisers, which impede carbon flow to soils and prevent humification.

During her seminars and workshops in New Zealand, Dr Jones will be talking about the liquid carbon pathway, which is the primary carbon sequestration mechanism in biologically active soils.

Cherryle Prew, co-organiser of the “Farming Soils – Starting Today” workshop, said Dr Jones’ visit was a great chance to bring experts on biological farming together in the South Island.

“It’s a rare chance for South Island farmers to hear experts on biological farming without having to travel far,” she said.

“We’ve had a lot of early interest in the workshop, so I’d encourage people to register soon so they don’t miss out.”

Dr Jones is the key note speaker at the “Farming Soils – Starting Today” workshop, 30th June – 1st July in Cromwell. Cost $180. To register, go to the link on www.soilfoodweb.co.nz

Dr Jones will be in New Zealand from 16th June.

ENDS

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