Slideshow presented at 2015 ACORN Conference PEI

1. Soil Regeneration for
Healthy Farms and
Resiliency
ACORN Conference
Charlottetown, PEI
November 23- 25, 2015
Ruth Knight – Organic Consultant Inc

3. Soil is weathered rock
materials (sand, silt and
clay) that are – or have
been – in contact with
plant roots

4. Green plants
capture sunlight
and carbon
dioxide (CO2) and
turn weathered
rock minerals into
soil

5. Fertile topsoil is a
product of
photosynthesis and
microbial resynthesis

6. Photosynthesis
“Photo” = Light
“Synthesis” = Putting together
“Making Life from Light”

7. Photosynthesis
forms the basis
of the pyramid
of life not soil
Soil
Roots,
Microbes
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Green plants, Light,
CO2

8. known mycorrhizal fungi and free
living nitrogen-fixing since 1890's
microbes are plant dependent
most microbes are plant dependent

9. Physical
Chemical
Biological

10. Animals
Plants
SOIL
Soil
Roots,
Microbes
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Green plants, Light,
CO2

13. m
rudy
garcia
2012
Soil Macroaggregates: formed by a healthy soil
healthy
Coarse Sand: 1.0 - 0.5 mm
Med. Sand: 0.5 - 0.25 mm
Fine Sand: 0.25 - 0.10 mm
Silt: 0.05 - 0.002 mm
Clay: < 0.002 mm
Med.
Sand
Fine sand
Soil Microaggregates: consisting of silt, clay,
humus, iron & aluminum oxides, lime (i.e.,
depending on soil pH), precipitated
minerals (e.g. calcium phosphate).
Root Hairs: 0.01- 0.05 mm dia.
Soil Microaggregates: < 0.25 mm dia.
(Large Aggregates: > 2 – 5 mm dia.)
Fine feeder root:
(≈ 0.3 mm dia.)
Mycorrhizal fungi:
(0.002 – 0.007 mm dia.) Hyphae
can grow 5 – 15 cm from the
root. Glomalin coats &
aggregates the soil particles.
Water held
between the aggregates.
Soil
Pore
(RH ≈ 100%)
Bacterial Colonies
(Bacteria:
0.0005 - 0.005 mm dia.)
(3.2 mm ≈ 1/8 inch) m m
Micropores
(< 0.06 mm
dia.)
Particulate
Organic
Matter
Rhizosphere
(Ref. NRCS Soil Quality Indicators)
RH=Relative
Humidity
Rhizosphere
Sand
Coarse
Sand
The Blue
background is
water held in
the aggregate.
Clay
coating
on sand.

14. 85% to 90% of plant nutrient acquisition is
mediated by microbes
without microbes plants starve unless we
fertilize them
without plants microbes starve
microbes feed on liquid carbon
Liquid carbon pathway regenerates soil

15. photosynthesis
translocation to roots
transfer to soil
Humification

16. C ~ 60%
N ~ 6-8%
P ~ 1-2%
S ~ 0.8-1.5%
Organo-mineral complex
(ie carbon plus minerals)

17. non labile (stable) carbon -resistant to
breakdown by microbes
increases water holding capacity, increases
structural stability and increases resiliency
increases macro and micro minerals -
improving nutrient density
all by increasing photosynthetic capacity and
rate

18. Increase photosynthetic capacity – green
plants, living roots 24/7

19. Gruver, Joel http://www.slideshare.net/jbgruver/

20. Increase photosynthetic rate - reduce
synthetic N and P, increased availability of N
and P displaces the microbes that synthesize N
and P, the increase in N changes C:N ratio lead
to reduction of carbon while microbes
breakdown nitrogen,
Nitrogen has to be biologically fixed in order
to sequester carbon in stable form

22. When the liquid carbon pathway is
operating largest increases in soil carbon
will around the actively growing roots
(usually at 30 to 40cm depth).
Versus
Surface carbon is labile carbon.

23. Decomposition Pathway
Photosynthesis
Biomass production
Decomposition
CO2
Organic Matter
Organic matter – Lose CO2
Labile = not stable
Humification Pathway
Photosynthesis
Translocation to roots
Translocation to soil/
microbes
Humus
Humus – Increase C
Non Labile = Stable

24. Gruver, Joel http://www.slideshare.net/jbgruver/

25. 1. Minimize soil disturbance - tillage
2. Keep soil covered 24/7
3. Living roots as long as possible
4. Diversity
5. Integrate livestock
6. Manage Farmscape for other ecological services -
pollinators, wildlife, community

33. Nutrition
Immunity
Happiness (Love)
Ref Farmacology: Dr Daphne Miller, M.D. 2013

34. Nutrient cycle – more microbial diversity and
more nutrition in food
Fruit and Soil Quality of Organic and
Conventional Strawberry Agroecosystems
John P. Reganold et al, Plos September 1, 2010 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0012346
Soil Ecology and Ecosystem Services, Oxford
Press 2012 Edited Diana H Wall et al, Chapter
3.3 Antunes et al.

35. Nutrient cycle - soil bacteria genes transfer to
gut biome and aid digestion
Transfer of carbohydrate-active enzymes
from marine bacteria to Japanese gut
microbiota
Jan-Hendrik Hehemann et al. Nature 464,
908-912 (8 April 2010)

36. Connection - Biome
Soil
Microbes
Plants
People
Animals

37. Immunity cycle Loss of biodiversity increases
incidence of asthma and allergies, including
depression
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Farm living: effects on
childhood asthma and allergy
Erika von Mutius & Donata Vercelli Nature
Reviews Immunology 10, 861-868 (December
2010) - Dr Erika von Mutius, Asthma and Allergy
Dept. Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital
University of Munich, Germany.

38. Mood cycle LOVE - Mycobacterium vaccae, soil
bacterium used in cancer treatment found to
lower depression
ingested stimulates release of serotonin –
antidepressant
More diversity of microbes = more happiness
Happy Farmers – Happy Food

39. crop/soil management that maintains or improves
the function of microbes and ability to facilitate
microbial synthesis of nutrients - inoculation and/or
mediating with management for endemic microbes
for enhanced crop nutrient
crop breeding to recognize AM fungi responsiveness
- Dr Wendy Taheri PhD AM trained fungi taxonomy
- Terra Nimbus independent lab to screen seeds for
AM responsiveness

40. NRCS: Manage for Soil Carbon

44. That generations to
come will thank us for
how we manage our
farmscapes.