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Regenerative Agriculture and Direct Drilling
Holistic Farming
Most cost effective way to build soil carbon
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<blockquote data-quote="Farmersdaughter" data-source="post: 3056024" data-attributes="member: 506"><p>I am still working on my understanding on of soils. I get a bit confused by statements like OM being used up by crops. </p><p>My understanding is that soil is made up of minerals, water, air and anything carbon based is organic matter. OM is anything from undecayed crop residue to an earth worm and everything in between. The ways I see "carbon" getting into the soil are from 1)decaying plant residue and roots, 2) root exudates that the plant produces to "feed" soil microbes for its benefit 3) from what farmers add. There is a soil food web using this OM as the primary food source, some of the carbon is "burnt" off as carbon dixoide by the microbial activity. But more complex forms and stable forms are produced and nutrients are released for plants to use by this. There was a great digram I saw at an Elaine Igrams talk of bacteria having more nitrogen than protozoa so that when protozoa ate bacteria they excreted the excess nitrogen which plants ( or bacteria ) could use.</p><p>I see humus as the end product of the soil food web, but I don't really understand what is.</p><p>Are soils with high OM healthy because of the soil microbes they support or due to the nutrients being released from the OM. If soils have limited soil microbes, for example a lot of intensive farmed soils are meant to be bacterial dominated so do they just burn off the carbon from the OM without alot of other benefits.</p><p>Although biochar adds carbon to soil and i think it is meant to be a good home for soil microbes, I don't see it as complex carbon source that can be food for microbes so is it really OM.</p><p>My understanding could be wrong and I would happy for where I have gone wrong to be pointed out.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Farmersdaughter, post: 3056024, member: 506"] I am still working on my understanding on of soils. I get a bit confused by statements like OM being used up by crops. My understanding is that soil is made up of minerals, water, air and anything carbon based is organic matter. OM is anything from undecayed crop residue to an earth worm and everything in between. The ways I see "carbon" getting into the soil are from 1)decaying plant residue and roots, 2) root exudates that the plant produces to "feed" soil microbes for its benefit 3) from what farmers add. There is a soil food web using this OM as the primary food source, some of the carbon is "burnt" off as carbon dixoide by the microbial activity. But more complex forms and stable forms are produced and nutrients are released for plants to use by this. There was a great digram I saw at an Elaine Igrams talk of bacteria having more nitrogen than protozoa so that when protozoa ate bacteria they excreted the excess nitrogen which plants ( or bacteria ) could use. I see humus as the end product of the soil food web, but I don't really understand what is. Are soils with high OM healthy because of the soil microbes they support or due to the nutrients being released from the OM. If soils have limited soil microbes, for example a lot of intensive farmed soils are meant to be bacterial dominated so do they just burn off the carbon from the OM without alot of other benefits. Although biochar adds carbon to soil and i think it is meant to be a good home for soil microbes, I don't see it as complex carbon source that can be food for microbes so is it really OM. My understanding could be wrong and I would happy for where I have gone wrong to be pointed out. [/QUOTE]
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Most cost effective way to build soil carbon
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