The world's soils contain three and a half times more carbon than the atmosphere!

Everything on our planet is interconnected, from the air we breathe to the soil beneath our feet. If we want to prevail over the climate crisis, we must take all of these factors into account.

With 2800 billion tons of carbon, the world's soils contain three and a half times more carbon than the atmosphere. To return to 350 ppm carbon from the current 420 ppm, 100 billion tons of carbon must be removed from the current atmospheric load of 800 billion tons.

Plants, trees, and animals, the world's biomass, add up to contain 564 billion tons of carbon. We cannot increase life by 20% with an additional 100 billion tons of carbon in biomass.

Soil is the elephant in the climate change room. In the world's soils there are 2800 billion tons of carbon stored.

Thankfully, nature has a method to maintain the balance that we call photosynthesis.

Photosynthesizing reduces the carbon dioxide in the air and increases liquid carbon (carbohydrates including sugars) in biomass (fiber and flesh) and soil. Plants push a fixed percentage of carbohydrates out of their roots to build soil whenever they photosynthesize. Most plants keep two-thirds and push out one-third. Grasses are the champions at pushing out one-half of the manufactured carbohydrates to build soil. A walk on the grass will cause the plant to repair itself along with more carbon stored in the soil.

Soil, especially a component called humus, has the remarkable ability to store carbon for thousands of years, and wood stores carbon for hundreds of years. In soil, carbon storage is long-term, especially when insulated by grass turf. Carbon stored in wood is short-term, increasingly so, when it is exposed to the air.

Now, while soil covers less than a quarter of the world's land surface, about 40% of the land is either desert or degraded. By converting arid dirt to healthy soil with plants, spreading green borders, and expanding oases, we can dramatically increase the amount of carbon drawn out of the atmosphere. A 4% global increase in healthy soils would draw down from the atmosphere more than 100 billion tons of carbon to restore 350 ppm of carbon.

One ounce of soil can swell to hold a cup of water (8 oz). Four inches of soil beneath a natural lawn that has not been fertilized can swell to hold seven inches of rainwater. With more soils, we restore local water cycles (remember cooling evaporation and warming condensation).

Global warming is happening because 342 watts per square meter of solar radiation is coming in. Due to retention by greenhouse gases, only 339 W/m2 is radiated back into space. The difference of 3 W/m2 is causing climates to change. A 1% increase in heat leaving the planet would nearly stop global warming, and a 2% increase, 6 W/m2, would cool the planet.

By embracing these natural processes and understanding how ecosystems work together, we can make significant strides to eliminate the negative impacts of climate change.

As we work together to resolve the climate crisis, we must recognize the invaluable role of soil. By nurturing the ground beneath our feet, we can create a healthier planet for generations to come.

More soon,

Rob