There is a lot of interest in soil carbon currently, due to the opportunity to store and sequester carbon in soil. It is also vital for soil health, forming part of soil organic matter.
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In 2015, the UK pledged to be Net Zero by 2050, with the NFU striving for the more ambitious target of 2040. Net Zero is achieved when the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted is balanced with those removed from the atmosphere. This helps to combat climate change and reduce global warming.
Opportunities are increasing for farmers and land managers to earn revenues from storing carbon in soils or vegetation, or by reducing baseline GHG emissions from crop and livestock production.
Soil is an essential natural resource for all farmers. Over recent years many initiatives have sought to provide information and advice on soils and Soil Health, notably AHDB Great Soils.
The number of tools and calculators available can be daunting. None are necessarily right or wrong, the appropriate tool for you depends on the question you are asking.
The standard way to measure and monitor soils has been through soils samples taken to 15-30cm in representative W patterns. A range of technologies are now available commercially and in development to provide higher resolution data across a wider range of metrics. This page provides a space to share and discuss the available and coming tools, services and technologies.
The intricate web of relationships between physical, chemical and biological soil components underpins crop and livestock health and productivity.
The British Society of Soil Science (BSSS) is an established international membership organisation committed to the study of soil in its widest aspects. The society brings together those working within academia, practitioners implementing soil science in industry and all those working with, or with an interest in soils.
Carbon Metrics is a consultancy firm offering detailed analysis of agricultural carbon audits to help service sector businesses identify where on farm mitigation is both environmentally and commercially sustainable in order to help reduce the environmental impacts or greenhouse gases from farming enterprises
Harnessing our collective strengths to bring about a step change in more sustainable soil health practices over the next decade
Our new book on Understanding and fostering soil carbon sequestration edited by Cornelia Rumpel, Director of Research in the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the French National Research Center, provides an authoritative review of all the latest research in this important area.
The Claydon Opti-Till® System, is a holistic approach to crop establishment which delivers consistent, high yielding crops at low cost, providing maximum profitability. At the centre of Opti-Till® Seed Drilling System is the Claydon direct strip Hybrid drill, with its unique leading tine technology.
regenagri is an international regenerative agriculture program for securing the health of the land and the wealth of those who live on it.
Together, we’re creating plausible pathways, and practical, open science, to achieve Net Zero through the Agrifood system by 2050.
Scientific paper in Carbon Management, Nov 2022.
White Horse Energy have secured funding from Department of Energy Security and Net Zero as part of the Biomass Feedstocks Innovation Programme to develop a transportable pelletising technology. This will be deployed at farm level with the capability of processing agricultural residues and perennial energy crops into industrial standard biomass pellets. This produces a high-density renewable energy source, for which the demand is growing substantially because of the need to find alternatives to fossil fuels. A prototype of the mobile pelletiser is currently being developed ready to enter the market. White Horse Energy hopes to provide farmers with an opportunity to increase farm revenue, all year round, without interfering with existing operations. Due to a lack of domestic production, current UK demand for biomass feedstocks significantly outweighs available supply. Therefore, a large proportion of biomass material is currently imported, which limits the sustainable nature of this energy source. White Horse Energy’s innovation will increase the viability of UK production and provide farmers with the opportunity to diversify into a new UK market, with lower environmental impacts and input costs. White Horse Energy are keen to engage with farmers during this development stage to understand the issues and concerns within the agricultural industry that affect growers most. This engagement assists in shaping the project to provide a diversification option that contributes positively to both the environment and farm income. Ultimately producing a solution that meets a wide variety of needs for everyone.
The 3rd Global Soil Biodiversity Conference to be held in Dublin (Ireland) in 2023 will expand on previous GSBI conferences and convene the world’s leading experts in this interdisciplinary field of soil biodiversity science to present and discuss recent advances addressing the urgency of meeting global challenges which link to human, animal and plant health and a more sustainable world.
Soil carbon is undoubtedly important for crop production and soil workability. While incredibly v
Webinar hosted by GWCT with David Powlson - watch the video below.
Our new book on Understanding and fostering soil carbon sequestration edited b
Scientific paper from Rothamsted on SOM levels: Prout JM, Shepherd KD, McGrath SP, Kirk
Network of farmers advisors and researchers working together, sharing ideas and data and testing solutions to increase soil carbon
Soil organic matter (OM) is all living or once-living materials in the soil. OM provides a direct source of energy/food for many soil organisms: it is the fuel in the soil food web. Turnover of OM successively releases and immobilises elements vital to the nutrition of crops.
Direct drilling, also known as no-till farming or zero-till farming, is an agricultural practice that involves planting crops without prior ploughing or cultivation of the soil.
This report by the German Environment Agency examines the mitigation potential of climate friendly soil management practices at global, EU and German level, along with key management measures, their co-benefits and trade-offs, and implementation challenges.
The agricultural industry is heading toward a more sustainable, profitable, and efficient future. Future Farming Expo will bring together forward-thinking Scottish farmers, advisors, and rural businesses over two days for knowledge hubs, discussion, and networking across a busy exhibition hall.
Certain crops (potatoes, sugar beet, maize, field vegetables) within a wider arable rotation pose increased risk of soil loss or degradation. Often described as ‘risky’ these crops may require additional management to ensure that field conditions are favourable and that there is no long-term disruption to soil functionality or structure.
We are pleased to announce that the next British Society of Soil Science Annual Conference will be a joint event with the Soil Science Society of Ireland and take place in Belfast on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 December 2023.
According to PAS 2050 Specification for lifecycle assessment of GHG emissions the increase in Soi
Increasing the amount of C stored in soil is beneficial from a climate change mitigation perspective.
From HillsGreen webinar on 3/2/2022 - In current times, carbon has become a buzzword. I
Recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlight how human acti
Lots of people claim to have increased their soil organic matter levels by using minimum tillage
Discussion
Can soil carbon be measured with sufficient accuracy to justify carbon offsetting charges?
Should soil carbon measurement include both non-labile and labile carbon?