a national perspective on soil health a view from the ... · the most revered natural resource...
TRANSCRIPT
A National Perspective on Soil
Health
A View from the White House
Soil Health and Climate
Iowa State University February 2, 2016
Jo Handelsman
Associate Director For Science
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Soil Health
➤ A meeting on soil health!
➤ A meeting on soil health at Iowa
State University!
➤ What is soil?
➤ Why does soil health matter?
➤ What can we do to save our soil?
➤ Conclusion
What is soil?
Photograph courtesy of USDA NRCS
What is soil?
"Soil”
➤ a complex mixture of pulverized bedrock
and other minerals
➤ in dynamic relationship with living and
decomposing organisms
➤ soil microbiome is rich, diverse, and
dense — 1 billion cells/g
Why does soil health matter?
➤ Foundation for food supply, buildings,
and health (source of 2/3 of clinically
important antibiotics)
➤ The most revered natural resource
throughout history
➤ Determinant of fate of civilizations
➤ A precious and threatened
natural resource
Unhealthy Soil Erodes
➤National average ~2-5 Tons/acre/year
➤Rate of formation is ~1/2-1 Ton/acre/year
➤Some regions lose soil at 30-40
Tons/acre/yr
➤ In years of severe weather, areas of Iowa
suffer losses of 100 Tons/acre/yr
➤One year, 100 Tons/acre was lost in one
day on thousands of acres in Iowa
Iowa Soil
Photograph courtesy of
Professor Rick Cruse, Iowa State University
Projections of Soil Erosion
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
2015 2025 2035 2045 2055 2065 2075 2085 2095 2105 2115
rem
ain
ing
so
il (
ton
s/a
cre
)
Projected Soil Depletion In Iowa
100 tons/acre/yr lost; 138,000 acres
50 tons/acre/yr; 10,000 acres
25 tons/acre/yr; 500,000 acres
5 tons/acre/yr; 10 million acres
From White House OSTP; based on data from “Losing Ground”
Why does soil health matter?
➤ Food security — in America and
globally
➤ Greenhouse gas emissions
➤ Carbon sequestration
➤ Water conservation
➤ Pollution
➤ But we’re losing our soil. Rapidly.
http://www2.epa.gov/ms-htf/northern-gulf-mexico-hypoxic-zone)
Gulf of Mexico
Hypoxic Zone 2014
Soil Health Is Not New
FDR signed the Soil Conservation Act on April 27, 1937
“The Nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.”
Soil Conservation is Not New
➤ 1938 Dr. WC Loudermilk, Asst Chief of SCS
➤ studied soil conservation across the globe and
discovered that
➤ soil erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, and
neglect destroyed civilizations, whereas
➤ careful stewardship enabled other societies to
flourish for centuries
What can we do to save our soil?
Good news: we know what to do to stop soil
erosion and improve soil health➤ Contour farming to reduce erosion on sloped land
➤ Cover crops to reduce open soil
➤ Strip cropping with deeply rooted
perennial plant species (STRIPs)
➤ Mixed cropping
➤ Minimal or no-till planting
➤ Long rotations
➤ Alfalfa
What can we do to save our soil?
➤ 1985 National Food Security Act (NFSA)
launched soil conservation programs
➤ managed by USDA’s Natural Resources
Conservation Service
➤ Between 1985 and 2007, soil loss was
reduced from a U.S. average of 4
tons/acre to 2.7 tons/acre
➤ Most of the gains were in the first 10 yrs
Today’s NRCS
➤ New Soil Health Division
➤ Focus on soil health, carbon
sequestration, water-holding capacity,
land management practices
➤ Educational website
➤ Partnerships with Extension Offices
across the U.S.http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/soils/health/
?cid=stelprdb1237522
What can we do to save our soil?
➤ Earth’s top 40 cm of soil contains ~860 Gt C
➤ Carbon in atmosphere as CO2 ~ 828 Gt C
➤ Atmospheric carbon increases ~4.3 GtC/yr
➤ Increase soil carbon by 0.4%/yr, could offset
the increases in atmospheric carbon
➤ At COP21—French proposed
“4/1000 Initiative: Soils for Food Security
and Climate”
Soil Health—Conclusions
➤ Soil is a precious natural resource
➤ Affects every aspect of the Earth
➤ Soil erosion threatens the future of our
food supply and health of the planet
➤ We know how to save our soil
➤ Research, Education, Outreach, World
Cooperation can turn the tide
Ideas to share?
Twitter @jo44
https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/01/13/food-
and-agriculture-21st-century