As the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has steadily increased in recent years, the need to capture and store carbon is more important than ever.
While there are natural ways to do it, via forests and other areas, and technical ones, such as capturing and storing CO2 after combustion, the more diversified the methods, the better off the planet will be.
Interestingly, as Canadian Light Source reported in 2024, Kansas State University researchers studied how different farming methods affect how much carbon is stored in the soil, and found that the use of organic fertilizer not only increased the amount of carbon stored, but also improved soil health.
In an effort to understand the mechanics behind soil carbon storage and how different agricultural practices affect that storage, the research team took soil from a corn field that had been grown with no-till and with a variety of fertilizers for the past 22 years. It studied that Earth via the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley, California, and the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan.
Using ultra-bright synchrotron light at these research facilities, the team was able to see exactly how soil stores carbon. Some of the carbon it found was preserved in the pores, while other carbon was attached to minerals found in the soil.
In addition, the researchers learned that the soil treated with organic fertilizer had more microbial carbon, a strong indication that this carbon was more supportive of microorganisms. The team also discovered special minerals in the soil samples treated with organic fertilizer that indicated these treatments contributed to active biological and chemical processes.
“To my knowledge, this is the first direct evidence of mechanisms by which organic amendments improve soil health, microbial diversity and carbon sequestration,” explained K-State Professor of Soil and Environmental Chemistry Ganga Hettiarachchi.
This research is good news for farmers and their communities, as it shows that farmers can reduce the amount of pollution they create by forgoing chemical fertilizers, which will reduce health risks for those living nearby. Additionally, this could encourage the agricultural industry to prioritize organic fertilizers, contributing to the overall goal of curbing pollution and cleaning up food growing practices.
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