Regenerative Farming is a major solution to removing carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane in the atmosphere. Regenerative farming recognizes the ecosystem of soil (the pedosphere) as advanced R&D from Mother Earth in which dynamic relationships among communities of organisms and chemical recycling best address erosion, flooding, and greenhouse gas pollution.
Soil amendments commonly used by agriculture to grow food crops act to tamp down the functioning of the soil ecosystem. From the Industrialization of Farming (i.e. use of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides) farmers have unknowingly drawn down the true wealth of soils. We were able to grow bumper crops of food but food produced is less nutritious, and pollinators and many beneficial insects have been reduced or eliminated. We are now contributing to the warming of the Earth by decreasing the soil’s natural sequestration of carbon. Healthy soils are the culmination of intricate, dense interactions among communities of soil organisms that deposit carbon in the soil, i.e. the ecosystem grows topsoil.
Go here to see a series of animations prepared for the public that demonstrate what we have learned about the soil networks and how they are related for a fully functioning pedosphere. This site was developed by Dr. Elaine Ingham, who discovered the soil food web nearly 4 decades ago and has pioneered this research ever since. “Widely recognized as the world’s foremost soil biologist, she’s passionate about empowering ordinary people to bring the soils in their community back to life.”
Susan Feathers 