February 25, 2008...5:41 pm
organic fertilizers help mitigate climate change
Source: ENN — This just out! Climate modelers are starting to include farming practices into climate change models. Here now is more evidence that conventional ag fertility decreases soil organic matter and reduces the soil’s capacity to sequester carbon, whereas organic fertilizers (compost, manures, cover crops) increase soil organic matter and likewise the soil’s capacity for sequestering carbon. Increasing organic matter in soils is a win-win-win-win-win…
“…increasing organic matter in soils may cause other greenhouse gas-saving effects, such as improved workability of soils, better water retention, less production and use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides, and reduced release of nitrous oxide.”
Read the whole article, but while we’re on the topic of climate change, here’s a very interesting site called Climate Debate Daily put together by two New Zealand philosophers. The site…
“…links to scientific articles, news stories, economic studies, polemics, historical articles, PR releases, editorials, feature commentaries, and blog entries. The main column on the left includes arguments and evidence generally in support of the IPCC position on the reality of signficant anthropogenic global warming. The right-hand column includes material skeptical of the IPCC position and the notion that anthropogenic global warming represents a genuine threat to humanity.”
Plus more. Seems like a great place to get both sides of the story.
3 Comments
February 25, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Great post! Thanks for the links! My research has lead me to believe you can sequester as much as 10 tons of carbon per 1% organic matter per acre. Given the 300,000,000+ acres of land under ag in the US that is certainly something to be looking at!
-Rob
February 26, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Hello, ive read your post and found it very interesting and informative.
February 26, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Hi, thanks for your post. The Soil Association, the UK charity for organic food and farming, has lots of interesting facts on this subject. Organic farming not only locks up carbon in the soil, but also bans oil-guzzling and greenhouse gas-forming nitrogen fertilisers. Their manufacture are agriculture’s biggest carbon footprint. Also check out long-term comparative studies at Rodale Institute, in the US, and Mader’s trials in Switzerland http://www.newfarm.org/features/2006/0806/fibl/mader.shtml
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