Potential co2 Sequestered by Initial Weathering of Crushed Basalt
Jun 13, 2023 | Educational Resources
Source: UC DAVIS JOHN MUIR INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENT
In The Spotlight: Dr. Nina Bingham
Jun 13, 2023 | Educational Resources
Source:https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Bingham.pdf
Dr. Nina Bingham, a Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Davis, conducts research on using crushed rock soil amendments to capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2) in agricultural fields. This research is part of the Working Lands Innovation Center’s efforts to address climate change while improving soil health and crop production. The process involves accelerating the natural breakdown of rocks, which removes CO2 from the atmosphere and stores it in the rocks. Crushed rock amendments can enhance this process while supplying nutrients to the soil. Dr. Bingham studies how climate variations in California affect soil carbon sequestration from crushed rock amendments by measuring their breakdown and carbon accumulation in field sites. The first round of amendments was applied in 2019, and soil samples are being collected to assess changes in carbon and nutrient levels. Dr. Bingham’s research aims to provide practical solutions for agriculture-based climate remediation, and she emphasizes the need for increased support and funding in this field.
Climate-Smart Agriculture: Soil Health & Carbon Farming
Jun 13, 2023 | Educational Resources
Source: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/WLIC%20Fact%20sheet%201_CarbonFarming.pdf
The provided PDF titled “WLIC Fact sheet 1: Carbon Farming” discusses the concept of carbon farming and its potential benefits. Carbon farming refers to agricultural practices that aim to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the soil, mitigating climate change while promoting sustainable land management. Here is a summary of the key points:
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Carbon farming involves implementing specific agricultural practices that enhance carbon sequestration in soils, such as cover cropping, conservation tillage, and agroforestry.
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The main objective of carbon farming is to increase the amount of carbon stored in agricultural soils, thereby reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.
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Carbon sequestration in soils offers multiple benefits, including improved soil health, increased water holding capacity, enhanced nutrient cycling, and increased agricultural productivity.
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The document highlights several carbon farming practices that farmers can adopt, such as no-till farming, crop rotation, and the use of organic amendments.
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Successful implementation of carbon farming practices can lead to economic benefits for farmers through participation in carbon markets, which provide financial incentives for carbon sequestration activities.
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The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers support to farmers interested in adopting carbon farming practices, including technical assistance and financial assistance programs.\
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The document emphasizes the importance of monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of carbon farming practices to ensure their long-term sustainability and to inform future policy decisions.
Overall, the PDF provides an overview of carbon farming and highlights its potential as a climate change mitigation strategy that also benefits agricultural productivity and soil health.
Crushed Rocks Can Capture Billions of Tons of CO2 per Year
May 31, 2023 | Educational Resources
Source: https://energypost.eu/enhanced-weathering-crushed-rocks-spread-on-farmland-can-capture-billions-of-co2-year/
The article discusses the concept of “enhanced weathering,” which involves spreading crushed rocks on farmland to capture significant amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. According to recent research, this technique has the potential to sequester billions of tons of CO2 annually, providing a substantial contribution to global climate change mitigation efforts.
Enhanced weathering involves using rocks that naturally react with CO2 in the air, such as basalt, and grinding them into fine particles. These particles are then spread across agricultural fields, where they undergo chemical reactions with CO2, converting it into solid carbonate minerals over time. This process mimics the natural weathering of rocks but accelerates the rate of carbon capture.
The article highlights a study published in Nature, which estimates that enhanced weathering on just 2% of global croplands could remove around two gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. This is equivalent to approximately one-third of current global emissions from fossil fuels. Furthermore, the process releases essential minerals like calcium and magnesium, which can enrich the soil and enhance agricultural productivity.
While the technique of enhanced weathering shows great potential, there are challenges to its widespread adoption. The availability of suitable rock types, transportation logistics, and energy requirements for crushing and distributing the rocks pose significant obstacles. Moreover, the long-term storage and monitoring of the captured carbon need to be carefully considered.
Despite the challenges, researchers believe that enhanced weathering could play a crucial role in mitigating climate change. It offers an opportunity to offset CO2 emissions while providing benefits for agriculture and soil fertility. Continued research, development, and large-scale pilot projects are necessary to fully assess the feasibility, environmental impacts, and cost-effectiveness of this approach in the future.
Kiss The Ground | Now Streaming On Netflix
Dec 2, 2020 | Educational Resources
Narrated and featuring Woody Harrelson, Kiss the Ground is an inspiring and groundbreaking film that reveals the first viable solution to our climate crisis.
Biomineral Fertilizers For Remineralizing Soils Damaged by Agricultural Practices
Dec 20, 2019 | Educational Resources, Green House Gasses, Technology
Conventional agriculture treats soil as a lifeless medium for plants to spread their roots through and collect added nutrients. The plant then must collect these nutrients themselves from the soil. This form of farming is fundamentally flawed, and removes a complex part of the ecosystem, among other negative effects. Healthy soil is a complex ecosystem full of microbes, fungi, carbon, nutrients, etc. Germ theory is used in Ag, the theory assumes that microbes and fungi are detrimental to plants and trees. It is true that there ARE bad microbes and fungi, but there ARE good ones as well that play a key part in nutrient absorption and availability. The broad-spectrum biocides used don’t discriminate, killing good and bad microbes/fungi.
The Importance Of Minerals
Many of the nutrients and micronutrients that plants need for growth and development can be found in rock powder. Rock Powder can be used to restore nutrient depleted topsoil. Not all elements in rocks are beneficial to plant growth, but nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are three key nutrients needed by plants that can be derived from rocks, also calcium and magnesium. These nutrients along with other micronutrients can be derived directly from rock powder in proper conditions. Microbes and fungi in soil break down the minerals, nutrients, and micronutrients in rocks and make them available for plants to absorb. Although this is a chemical problem, the solution is biological.
The Role of Microorganisms in Extracting Mineral Nutrients from Mineralized Rock Powder
As the microbes/fungi in soil process the rock powder in soil it breaks the nutrients up allowing plants to absorb their metabolic products. Without them these nutrients would remain unavailable to the plants. Microbes also decompose dead plants and animals making even more nutrients available for plants. Not only do the microbes/fungi make nutrients available, but they deliver the nutrients directly to the plant’s roots.
The Role of Mineralized Rock Powder on Microorganisms
Rock soil provides a nutrient source for microorganisms, but it also provides them with a home. Different minerals are colonized by different microorganisms. With the use of different combinations of rock powder you can provide a wide variety of microorganisms homes (microhabitats) and nutrients. These homes provide a safe haven to microorganisms making them stronger and resistant to attack.
The Importance of Biomineral Fertilizers
Conventional fertilizers do not promote the growth of large healthy root systems, thus a smaller rhizosphere for important microbes/fungi to live in. This results in less nutrient exchange, mineral uptake, and phytochemical production which is important for plant health and its ability to fight off disease and pests. So a proper Biomineral Fertilizer provides the nutrients AND biology to make them available for the plants. With proper management the ecosystem soil provides microorganisms, there is the potential to reduce or replace pesticides and conventional fertilizers.
Biomineral Fertilizers Prepared from Low-grade Ore and Mine Waste
As minerals and metals are mined it becomes more difficult to find large deposits of easily mined materials. Because of this processes are being refined in order to further process mine waste and retrieve the smaller particles of these materials. Aside from it being more difficult to find mined materials, abandoned mine land presents threats to humans and the environment. There are as many as half a million abandoned mines in the US alone. These pollute streams affecting aquatic life as well as ourselves. Mill tailings are very small and susceptible to erosion. With new processes and uses for mines and its materials, their lifespan can be extended reducing the need for new sites to be mined.
Conclusion
With new processes that are economically viable, materials from low-grade ore can be utilized. This gives mines a longer lifespan and lowers the environmental footprint of their operations. Along with this the materials processed will reduce the need for conventional fertilizers and pesticides. Using rock powder and bio fertilizer is a more sustainable practice for agriculture. It is also cost-competitive with conventional farming technique and produces comparable if not greater yields.
Food Production for Our Modern World
Dec 20, 2019 | Educational Resources, Technology
Why do the great forests of the world grow? The question may seem irrelevant to food production on today’s farms but the fact is that the answer to food production for the foreseeable future of Planet Earth is given to us by the continuous growth of our global forests.
How Microbes Can Help Feed the World
Dec 20, 2019 | Educational Resources, Technology
Microbes and plants are intimate partners in virtually every life process.
Microbes support plant health by increasing the availability of nutrients, enhancing
plant root growth, neutralizing toxic compounds in the soil, making plants more resistant to disease, heat, flooding, and drought and deterring pathogens and predators.
New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods
Dec 17, 2019 | Educational Resources
This link is to a scientific study comparing organic versus non-organic foods and their nutritional value. The rather eye-opening account compares multiple studies done since 1980 and combines their results to see if organic food is more nutritious. The answer, of course, is yes.
