Implementing these enlightened soil health practices helps increase soil carbon by nearly 20 tons/hectare annually: eliminating the need for fertilizer, increasing water infiltration and retention, reducing the impacts of periodic drought, and greatly increasing profitability and soil health. And at the same time, 70 tons of carbon dioxide are removed from the atmosphere by this process every year.
1. Armor the Soil Reduces water and wind erosion, decreases water evaporation, moderates soil temperatures and suppresses weed growth.
2. Minimize Soil Disturbance. No or minimal tillage, ploughing and discing.
3. Diversity Plant Life. Plant diversity uses sunlight and water to sequester carbon and other nutrients, preventing leakages into ground and surface waters.
4. Continually Live Plant Roots. A continual living plant root provides carbon exudates to feed the soil food web This creates soil aggregate, which increases soil pores for improved water and air exchange.
5. Livestock Integration. Livestock integration converts plant fiber into low carbon organic material and adds biology to the root zone.