dirt and health

I've recently listened to Michael Pollan's two books, Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food. I think it was the first one which had a chapter about soil biology that knocked my socks off. My college degree is in Agronomy. Yes, it was the seventies, and I even wrote a controversial paper about (gasp!) No-Till farming. But I learned more from Pollan's chapter than I had in four and a half years of school, studying the subject. We learned about the physics and the chemistry of soils, but the only nod to it's biology was the nitrogen fixing bacteria of legumes.

So I've been trying to educate myself since then.

I plan to use this thread for my notes, and anyone can jump in.

The first text I read was The Soul of Soil: A Soil-Building Guide for Master Gardeners and Farmers by USDA Organic Foods specialist, Grace Gershuny.
It was a terrible disappointment. It took a subject which fascinates me, and made it drier than dust. I guess it models itself as a textbook. It spouts studies and tables galore, but it fails to say much that is meaningful.

I'm now reading Life in the Soil: A Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners by James B. Nardi.
Much better.
It is written in three parts.
Part one is titled "The marriage of the mineral world and the organic world." It is only 40 pages, but covers soil structures, chemistry, etc.
Part two is the largest part of the book, almost 200 pages, surveying Microbes and other animals which live in or affect the structure of soil.
Part three is 11 pages titled "Working in partnership with creatures of the soil."
It's topics are erosion, fertilizers, acid rain, salt-encrustation, soil structure, exotics invasion, and composting.

A further 12 pages covers Collecting and Observing Life of the Soil.

The animals section is exhaustive, and attempts to be universal, covering species in all parts of the world.
The book is dense and well illustrated with color photos and nicely rendered pencil drawings.

The part i see which is short-changed is the action of plants in soils. There are a few drawings of root systems, and a small discussion of rootlets, particularly in the microbes section. But I feel the need for expansion of this part.

I have three more books waiting for a look-see.

I've also been viewing documentaries.

On the horrors of what the oil and gas industry are doing, I watched Gasland.

Dirt! the movie is fascinating. Lots of interviews with lots of great experts. I plan to watch it at least another time before I return it to the library, and take good notes. One of the most interesting scientists is helping to develop a humus battery, pulling electricity from the soil microbial activity.

Michael Pollan spends time with Joel Salatin on his Virginia farm. He describes how Joel makes him get down on his belly and really examine a square foot of the land. Joel claims to be a grass farmer, with all his animal herds only value-added aspects. I really like that characterization. And it's all about the soil.

I think the humus battery may be more properly called a Soil-based microbial fuel cell.

The three other texts I'll be reading and reviewing are Tales from the Underground: A Natural History of Subterranean Life, Fundamentals of Soil Ecology, which is what I was looking for, I think; and The Soil and Health: A Study of Organic Agriculture, which is a classic, copyrighted in 1947.

I also have Farmers of 40 Centuries on my shelves and will probably finally read it, too.

I came across this article

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/11/29/166156242/cornstalks-everywhere-but....

and found it provocative.

I couldn't get your link to work, but did a search and found the article - very interesting, and a bit scary!

Heh! That's at least an interesting lost articles page, is it not?

I'm going to try posting it again HERE

I've been dragging Tales From The Underground: A Natural History Of Subterranean Life around with me all summer and fall. I've finally been able to dip into it and found a fascinating chapter on Nitrogen fixation and commercial nitrogen production via the Haber process.

Hoping I can continue into the book.

Rather than reading Tales from the Underground as a book, I finally tried reading the chapters as self contained and managed to get through most of it. There was lots of extraneous material to wade through. Best chapters were on earthworms and soil microbes. I learned more than I cared to about Charles Darwin and also realized I should get a tetanus booster. There was a vivid description of the disease and a portrait of a French soldier in the last throes. Not at all pretty.

Meanwhile, I read Teaming with Nutrients which promised you didn't need to know college level science and then delivered a huge dose of college level science. But that's alright. It's exactly what I wanted.

Excerpt from article on Vitamin N (Nature):

Microbes, Biodiversity and the Benefits of Getting Dirty
by David Suzuki
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/david-suzuki/microbes-biodiversity_b_7446334.html

...According to Alan Logan, author of Your Brain on Nature, diet and where we live and play have a tremendous influence on the microbial ecosystems on our skin and in our noses, mouths and intestines. Logan and experts from a range of disciplines at the Natural Environments Initiative workshop at Harvard School of Public Health found people who live in areas with rich plant diversity have more diverse microbiomes. The air we breathe, the soil we dig and the outdoor plants we come into contact with include a variety of microbes that may be absent in indoor and built environments.

Researchers have even found digging in dirt, whether gardening or playing, can benefit our physical and mental health. A microbe common to mud and wet soils, Mycobacterium vaccae, has been shown to influence brain neurotransmitters to reduce anxiety and improve cognitive functioning. Another microbe encountered in natural environments, Acinetobacter lwoffii, has been shown to benefit the human immune system, preventing asthma, hay fever and other ailments in children who have been exposed to it -- although it can also cause infections and gastric problems for people with compromised immune systems.

Research by Ilkka Hanski and colleagues at the University of Helsinki found microbe diversity reduced the incidence of allergies. They compared adolescents living in houses surrounded by biodiverse natural areas to those living in landscapes of lawns and concrete. From skin swabs, they learned that higher native-plant diversity appears to be associated with greater and more diverse microbial composition on the participants' skin, which led to lower risk of a range of allergies.

...According to the American Public Health Association, "People of all ages and abilities enjoy higher levels of health and well-being when they have nature nearby in parks, gardens, greenways, naturalized schoolyards and playgrounds, and natural landscaping around homes and workplaces."...

>9 margd: That is fascinating. Sending the kids out now to make mud pies.

I finally did get a tetanus booster because I got bit by a dog this weekend. Did you know that even human bites will get infected? Abcess Cellulitis is what the doctor called it.

PS: The dog is fine. He now loves me.

I'm in the middle of The Soil Will Save Us and loving the material. My first exposure to the word 'Humin' which is 'Nonextractable Soil Organic Matter' and the mechanism for long-term carbon sequestration. Also learning about healthy grazing techniques, using wild herd behaviors as the model, which some farmers are adopting and helping their land to re-generate. Very interesting stuff.

It took me most of the summer to finish The Soil Will Save Us and it was well worth the time. It's precisely the book I'd been looking for and it gave me multiple directions for further readings.

Here is my review:

"This is a vital book to have read, and just what I had been looking for since my days as an Agronomy student. It took me quite a while to get through it as it referenced other works that diverted me.

The most valuable section is the second chapter, reviewing recent soil science. I have recently been learning about mychorrhizal fungi, but I had never before encountered the word ‘humin,’ which is the very stable carbon rich part of healthy soil.

The idea that a particular type of hard grazing is good for the land and plants is remarkably clever. The review of best practices in a variety of ecologies makes so much common sense and they all promote rich collections of wildlife habitat as well. Let us get back in synch with our Mother, shall we?

The back side of the book outlines some of the new alliances being formed among farmers, environmental activists and scientists. It is a very hopeful book and should be read widely.

examples:
Matt Liebmann, Iowa State University ecologist. If fields are left untilled until spring, two species of field mice will consume up to 70% of weed seeds, dramatically reducing the need for herbicides.

Winter flooding of California rice fields is an alternative method to dispose of crop debris (instead of burning it!) and also creates perfect seasonal habitat for migratory birds, which add rich organic manures to the fields. Duh!

David C. Johnson New Mexico State University soil biologist found that the biological balance of bacteria and fungi in composts is much more important than the chemical components in their effectiveness. This aspect is completely missed in traditional soils testing. (5 stars)"

I'd prefer to start a new topic, but my server here won't let me.

I'm researching land modification for soil building and water retention. I came upon the Keyline principles. Though none of P. A. Yeomans books are available in my library system, I discovered that the three older titles are uploaded to the web, probably by an Ag school. So I've added the links in the book description boxes.

PS: His son Allan J. Yeomans wrote a book concerning global warming, and it is available for free download as well. The link is in the same place on the work page.

Reading up on farming practices and climate change, here is a Scientific American article on no-till farming:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-farming-practices-in-oklahoma-solv...

"If you look at the global carbon created in nature under land-based systems, soil and trees are the two dominant reservoirs where carbon is,” Rattan Lal, director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at Ohio State University, told ThinkProgress.

Soils — and the microbes that live within them — store three times as much carbon as is in the atmosphere, and four and a half times as much as in all plants and animals. “If the soil carbon reserve is not managed properly,” Lal said, “it can easily overwhelm the atmosphere.”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/29/3652020/global-soil-week-forum-recap...

http://www.commonfuture-paris2015.org/Programme/Side-Events/170-Soil-carbon-sequ...

Therefore, an international action plan for soils should be inclusive and long term to achieve the 4 per mil target. Research needs relate to action relevant knowledge and evidences regarding the following issues: a) Sequestration (or loss) of soil carbon; b) The design and co-construction of agronomic strategies and practices at various scales (individual to collective) targeting the '4 per mil' objective, and the assessment of their performances and of their trade-offs with other objectives; c) The design, experimentation and assessment of institutional arrangements and public policies, including financial mechanisms, that aim at promoting and rewarding relevant practices d) Metrics and methods for monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon sequestration on the basis of a net-net accounting that could take place at several scales (farm, landscape, region, country).

There are other ways to sequester carbon besides agriculture and forestry, such as capturing emissions from power plants and piping the carbon to underground storage spaces.

But Estrada says doing so by farming makes the most sense.

"Photosynthesis and soil has been working for billions of years," he says. "It's the longest running research and development project around, so why not use the simple, well proven one that we know works?"

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/07/458063708/carbon-farming-gets-a-n...

http://soilnotoilcoalition.org/

Dr. Vandana Shiva

I read Farmacology a while back and feel pretty good about not washing my veggies from the farmers market too thoroughly!

The truth about dirt, from The Guardian online newspaper, February 2016. This couple's new book goes on sale in the UK in a few days:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/nov/29/anne-bikle-david-montgomery-hidd...

And here is their book link for The hidden half of nature:

http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Half-Nature-Microbial-Health/dp/0393244407/ref=sr_1...

UK Parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee report on Soil Health, in particular, it's role in Carbon sequestration:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvaud/180/180.pdf

Speaking of dirt, my family and I found a local source for biodynamic soil. We are setting up a backyard raised asparagus bed with that biodynamic dirt plus recommended soil amendments for asparagus ... time will tell. (Asparagus planting time is very early spring, according to Barbara Kingsolver and others.) Next to that raised bed will go our Earth boxes with leeks and other veggies.

Carbon farming - what a concept!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/opinion/sunday/soil-power-the-dirty-way-to-a-...

Part 1 : Soil Health
Changing consumers ignite food revolution
It’s transforming Minnesota’s food companies and economy.
Kristen Leigh Painter | December 17, 2017

...Without a financial incentive (like "organic"), there are fewer reasons for skeptical producers to switch to soil practices that encourage rich bacterial ecosystems and better water absorption.

“That’s the next step,” said Steve Swaffar, executive director of No Till on the Plains. “Opening up avenues for growers who feel they are being more responsible so that their products can be recognized and distinguished from their neighbors who don’t use regenerative practices.”

...the maker of Cheerios and Gold Medal flour...making soil resilience one of its key sustainability issues. It recently committed to spending nearly $3 million over three years on soil health initiatives. That’s a small amount of money for a company with sales of almost $16 billion, but Jerry Lynch, the company’s chief sustainability officer, insists that improving soil health is crucial to General Mills’ future as a business.

There’s only so much land that can be used to grow food, so the company needs existing croplands to be as productive as possible, Lynch said. Monoculture has gradually whittled away at this...

http://www.startribune.com/changing-consumers-ignite-food-revolution/457733433/

>24 margd: Thanks for sharing that article.

I'm most impressed with that “soil health road map” that outlines 10 scientific, economic and political steps. Yep. The whole system needs to move forward.

> 25 Good catch!
Nature Conservancy's
12 p pdf: https://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/rethink-soil-executiv...

(Sounds like 3 more parts yet to come for MN Star Tribune article.)

Well, I found a USDA agronomist who writes engagingly and productively.

Jon Stika works in North Dakota Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

He self published a slim volume in 2016, A Soil Owner's Manual.

Seven brief and to the point chapters and 4 page bibliography.

Watching Kiss the Ground, discovered Ray Archuleda, soil ecologist.

Google his name to find video presentations like this

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&channel=iphone_bm&q=Ray+Arch...

>28 2wonderY: Gasp! At today’s rate of loss, all the earth’s remaining topsoil will be gone in 60 years.

Happy World Soil Day! The theme this year is

Soils: Where food begins

I think I will go downstairs and whisper a hello to the tender ginger plants I am trying to overwinter, and the pepper plant that refuses to die. And check their soil moisture.

I rooted 2 tomato plants on my kitchen windowsill--one a twig, really--and some mint! DH potted them and plans to overwinter them in plexiglass egress window. Wishing them well!!

>30 2wonderY: ICYMI :)

Oksana Coban et al. 2022. Soil microbiota as game-changers in restoration of degraded lands. Science 4 Mar 2022. Vol 375, Issue 6584. DOI: 10.1126/science.abe0725 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe0725

Structured Abstract
...
OUTLOOK
Microorganisms can play the leading role in restoring degraded lands, improving soil hydraulic properties such as infiltration and water retention and reducing soil hydrophobicity, which together can facilitate ecosystem restoration. We advocate for research on mechanisms to restore degraded soils with the use of microorganisms. Given the critical role of freshwater availability to terrestrial life and the paucity of studies on hydrological restoration, we especially advocate for research on the hydrological restoration of degraded soil using microorganisms. We propose that microorganisms can improve soil hydraulic properties such as infiltration and water retention and reduce soil hydrophobicity. Along with new organic matter derived from microbes, this will promote plant growth and facilitate further ecosystem restoration. Such a restoration strategy requires collaboration across the research fields of microbiology and soil hydrology, of which there has been very little to date. Understanding the dynamics of soil microbes and connected hydrological processes would create the foundation for restoration practices that can return resilience to the soil ecosystem.

Nick Offerman is the dirt!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxayzYfR5WL/?igshid=MWZjMTM2ODFkZg==