<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Photosynthesis moves carbon from the atmosphere back into the soil. <\/strong>This is what the principles of regenerative agriculture are based upon (Qvale and Sletsj\u00f8e 2022). The carbon provides food and energy to the micro-organisms in the soil, which in turn convert nutrients in the soil into forms the plants can take up.<\/p>\n Regenerative agriculture is therefore about building the micro-life in the soil while recognizing that \u201cthe majority of microbes involved in nutrient uptake are plant-dependent\u201d <\/strong>(Jones 2013). It is therefore important to optimize the natural exchange between plants and microbes:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201c Soil ecologist Dr. Christine Jones<\/u> coined the term “liquid carbon pathway<\/u>” to describe how plants transform water, air, and sun into soluble carbohydrates (liquid carbon) that are exchanged for nutrients with the underground players in the soil-plant food web.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n (Mays 2020:17 [emphasise added])<\/span><\/p>\n Regenerative agriculture avoids, as far as possible, soil disturbances similar to those found in ‘conventional\u00a0 agriculture’.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cTillage destroys soil structure. It is constantly tearing apart the \u2018house\u2019 that nature builds to protect the living\u00a0 organisms in the soil that create natural fertility\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n (Cox 2023:11)<\/span><\/p>\n Tillage also results in large amounts of carbon being released into the atmosphere. Fossil chemical agents (fertilisers, herbicides etc.) also negatively affect the barter trade between plants and soil organisms.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Compared to conventional agriculture, the regenerative approach can be extremely profitable. <\/strong>Take the Singing Frogs Farm<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, North-California, USA:<\/p>\n \u201c[which] produces (..) vegetables for 100,000 dollars per acre (per 4 da). By comparison, the average farm in America gets 1,700\u00a0 dollars per acre, while the average in crop-rich California is 14,000.”<\/em><\/p>\n (L\u00f8nning 2017:171)<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n With its focus on increasing carbon storage in the soil, regenerative agriculture has enormous potential as an effective carbon sequestration measure: <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cTo get back to our pre-fossil-fuel level of 280 ppm, we need to increase the organic matter of our planet s agricultural soils by an average of less than three percent.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n (Mays 2020:218)<\/span><\/p>\n But, as Jones argues:<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not so much a matter of how much carbon can be sequestered by any particular method in any particular place, but rather how much soil is sequestering carbon. If all agricultural, garden, and public lands were a net sink for carbon, we could easily reduce enough CO2 <\/sub>to counter emissions from the burning of fossil fuels\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Dr. Christine Jones (October 2017) Soil Restoration: 5 Core Principles<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Compared to ‘CCS\u2019 (the high-tech, capital-intensive carbon capture technology for storage in reservoirs), soil carbon storage is \u2018low- capital & low-tech\u2019:<\/p>\n “The really exciting thing about this is that we\u2019re not talking about \u2018expert knowledge\u2019. It\u2019s not about expensive and advanced\u00a0 technology either. Basically. this is knowledge we can all obtain, and measures we can all practice. On a larger or smaller scale.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0(L\u00f8nning 2019:220)<\/span><\/p>\n Sources:\u00a0<\/p>\n Trond Ivar Qvale, Regenerativt Norge, Medforfatter: Marianne Sletsj\u00f8e, NLR \u00d8stafjells (3. mai 2022): Regenerativt landbruk \u2013 hva er det?<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Daniel Mays (2020): The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm<\/em><\/p>\n Dag J\u00f8rund L\u00f8nning (2019): Jordboka II<\/em><\/p>\n Christine Jones, Phd (2013): From light to life: restoring farmland soils<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Dr. Christine Jones (2017) Soil Restoration: 5 Core Principles<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Dorn Cox with Courtney White (2023): The Great Regeneration<\/em><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n Fortunately, there is. It\u2019s called photosynthesis.*<\/span> You just have to allow it to realize its potential. <\/strong>\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Christine Jones, PhD (2018): Light Farming: Restoring carbon, organic nitrogen and biodiversity to agricultural soils<\/a>,<\/strong><\/span> [emphasize and text in brackets added]<\/span><\/p>\n (*)<\/span><\/strong> “In the miracle of photosynthesis, a process that takes place in the chloroplasts of green leaves, carbon dioxide (CO2<\/sub>) from the air <\/u>and water (H2<\/sub>O) from the soil<\/u>, are combined to capture light energy [from the sun]<\/u> and transform it to biochemical energy in the form of simple sugars [carbon compounds].”\u00a0 (Jones, ibid. [emphasize and text in brackets added]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [We need the carbon down in the soil because:]<\/u>\u00a0 Carbon is the currency for most transactions within and between living things. Nowhere is this more evident than in the soil. Carbon is what lends fertility to soil and sustains plant and microbial life. Soil that’s rich in carbon holds water, like a sponge.<\/strong>\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Christine Jones, quoted in Judith D. Schwartz (2013:11-12): Cows Save The Planet and Other Improbable ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth [emphasize and text in brackets added]<\/span><\/p>\n [Schwarts 2013 follows up:]<\/p>\n \u201c\u00a0<\/strong>How do you build carbon in the soil?<\/u><\/strong> By reversing the processes that released carbon into the air. <\/strong>Oil, coal, and gas represent one source of emissions, but over time the greater culprit has been agriculture. Since about 1850, twice as much atmospheric carbon dioxide has derived from farming practices as from the burning of fossil fuels (the roles crossed around 1970). In the past 150 years, between 50 and 80 percent of organic carbon in the topsoil has gone airborne. The antidote to this rapid oxidation is regenerative agriculture<\/u>: <\/strong>working the land with the goal of building topsoil, encouraging the growth of deep-rooted plants, and increasing biodiversity.<\/em><\/p>\n This turns the conventional approach to farming upside down: <\/strong>Rather than focusing on growing crops, the intention is to grow the soil. <\/strong>But “carbon farmers” like Donovan and Collins contend that as you build carbon levels, the rest\u2014land productivity, plant diversity and resilience amid changing conditions\u2014will follow.<\/em> [But note that Jones 2018 qualifies this statement saying that \u201cthe majority of microbes involved in nutrient acquisition are plant-dependent\u201d.\u00a0 So even with a focus on life below ground, it is with a strong sideways glance at the way plants can optimize the ‘soil-plant nutrient network’].<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n Judith D. Schwartz (2013:12-13): Cows Save The Planet and Other Improbable ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth [emphasise and text in brackets added]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Regeneration of topsoil is critical to reversing the loss of cultivated land and the negative impact on human and animal health. According to Jones 2018:<\/p>\n [It is not because minerals and trace elements are absent from the soil, Jones argues:]<\/em><\/p>\n Only in rare instances are minerals and trace elements [micronutrients] completely absent from soil.<\/u><\/strong> Most of the \u2018deficiencies\u2019 observed in today\u2019s plants, animals and people are due to soil conditions not being conducive to nutrient uptake. The minerals are present, but simply not plant available. Adding inorganic elements to correct these so-called deficiencies is an inefficient practice. Rather, we need to address the biological causes of dysfunction. The soil\u2019s ability to support nutrient dense,<\/u> high vitality crops, pastures, fruit and vegetables requires the presence of a diverse array of soil microbes from a range of functional groups. [*]<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0(Jones<\/em> 2018, ibid. [emphasize, bullets and text in brackets added] )<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMicronutrients\u2014like copper, magnesium, iron, and zinc\u2014are among the elements essential for building phytochemicals, enzymes, and proteins in plants central to their health and the health of all who eat them. Micronutrient malnutrition is like a hidden hunger and now affects far more people than caloric malnutrition. Mineral deficiencies are estimated to afflict a third to half of humanity, causing major health problems in both developed and developing countries.<\/em><\/p>\n Conventional agriculture either directly or indirectly alters the microbial communities that deliver or influence the movement of micronutrients from soil to plants.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Low iron and zinc are among the most common nutritional deficiencies in people despite levels high enough to support mineral-dense crops in most soils. In many cases, iron, zinc, and other micronutrients readily combine with other elements, like oxygen, to form relatively insoluble compounds. Though close by in the soil, they remain locked up and unavailable to plants. Certain microbes can help pry these elements loose. And this poses an overlooked question for modern agriculture.\u201c<\/em><\/p>\n Montgomery, David R. and Bikl\u00e9, A. (2016:231, 233-234: The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health<\/em>.<\/em> [Emphasize added])<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n “The majority of microbes involved in nutrient acquisition are plant-dependent.<\/em> #<\/sup> <\/span>That is, they respond to carbon compounds exuded by the roots of actively growing green plants. Most plant-dependent microbes are negatively impacted by the use of \u2018cides\u2019 – herbicides, pesticides, insecticides and fungicides. <\/em><\/p>\n The use of these chemicals reduces nutrient uptake, compromising the plant\u2019s immune response and often requiring even further use of chemicals. In short, the functioning of the soil ecosystem is determined by the presence, diversity and photosynthetic rate of actively growing green plants – as well as the presence or absence of chemical toxins.<\/em><\/p>\n [Jones refers to \u2018NMSU\u2019- an American research team in highlighting the importance of crop density:]<\/em><\/p>\n The NMSU researchers discovered that plant growth is highly correlated with how much life\u2014and what kind of life\u2014is in the soil <\/strong>(..) The NMSU research team found that <\/em>as cover crop density increased, the effect became quadratic, due to the synergies between living plants and soil microbial communities. That is, 1 + 1 = 4.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u201c<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0(Jones 2018, ibid. [emphasize, bullets and text in brackets added] )<\/span><\/p>\n #<\/span> <\/sup>This can be linked to Jones’ earlier argument that cutting out artificial fertilizers alone is not sufficient to improve soil health:<\/p>\n \u201cUnless biology-friendly fertilisers are used in combination with diverse year-round living cover the essential microbes won\u2019t be there to be supported<\/u>.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Christine Jones, Phd (2013): From light to life: restoring farmland soils<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>\u00a0[emphasize added]<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201d Robert Rodale (..) coined the term \u201cregenerative organic\u201d to distinguish a kind of farming that goes beyond sustainable. Regenerative organic agriculture not only maintains resources but improves them.<\/strong> With only about 60 years of topsoil remaining at current practices, nothing less will do (..) [It\u2019s] a holistic approach to farming that encourages continuous innovation and improvement of environmental, social, and economic measures.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n https:\/\/rodaleinstitute.org\/why-organic\/organic-basics\/regenerative-organic-agriculture\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span> [emphasize and text in brackets added]<\/span><\/p>\n ” (..) Regenerative agriculture is characterized by ecological tendencies towards closed nutrient loops<\/u><\/strong>, greater diversity in the biological community, fewer annuals and more perennials, and greater dependence on internal rather than external resources. Regenerative organic agriculture is associated with forms agroecology (..) Regenerative organic agriculture for soil-carbon sequestration is tried and true (..) What is new is the scientific verification of regenerative agricultural practices.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Rodale Institute (2014): Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change A Down-to-Earth Solution to Global Warming<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe concept of regenerative agriculture (..), what does it really mean? From the word generate, in the sense of creating, we can translate regenerative agriculture with regenerative or vitalizing agriculture. An agriculture that promotes biological life and activity in the soil.<\/em><\/p>\n The principles of regenerative agriculture are based on photosynthesis moving carbon from the atmosphere back into the soil. Carbon is food for life in the soil and is necessary to rebuild the content of organic matter. The term is “related to” sustainable agriculture, but it is not the same. Sustainable agricultural systems can continue to produce at the same level for the foreseeable future without deteriorating. (ref, Brundtland Commission 1987). If the starting point is a depleted soil with low production capacity – a sustainable agricultural system will not improve it.<\/strong>“<\/em><\/p>\n Trond Ivar Qvale, Regenerativt Norge, Medforfatter: Marianne Sletsj\u00f8e, NLR \u00d8stafjells (3. mai 2022): Regenerativt landbruk \u2013 hva er det?<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>\u00a0[own translation, emphasis added, order of text changed]<\/span><\/p>\n Many of what are termed \u2018sustainable\u2019 agricultural practices represent only small improvements in current methodology. At best, they impart a fleeting tinge of green to a deteriorating landscape. \u2018Regenerative\u2019 practices embody fundamental redesign<\/strong> (Hill 1998). They utilise natural ecological services to replenish and reactivate the resource base. When agriculture is regenerative, soils, water, vegetation and productivity continually improve<\/u> rather than staying the same or slowly getting worse. <\/em><\/p>\nThe short version<\/u><\/h3>\n
More on the Rational for Regenerative Agriculture<\/u><\/h3>\n
\u201c\u00a0<\/strong>Imagine there was a process that could:<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n
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Definitions that illustrate various elements of regenerative agriculture<\/u><\/h3>\n