Research and projects

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• Measuring and defining soil health are an important challenge to the research and grower communities. This article suggests the concept of the ‘soil health gap’ – the gap between soil qualities in a soil’s ‘natural’ undisturbed state and under current land use. I’ll have a detailed read to understand how they conceptualise ‘native soil’!

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• This fascinating paper argues that soil biodiversity must be put at the centre of land use, and be mainstreamed in sustainability and biodiversity debates and policies. The authors offer a number of case studies showing how soil biodiversity supports the achievement of multiple sustainable development goals, with a special focus on traditional land use practices.

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• Relatedly, this recent paper finds that amongst European farmers awareness of soil biota is low: “Farmers saw the soil as a single object. They hardly distinguished soil biota from other elements in their soils. Soil biota remained poorly known and little valued”.

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• A really interesting short article on the relevance of the capillary fringe – the area in the soil between air-filled pores and water-filled pores  - and on experimental methods of researching its behaviour.

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• An important study in Vietnam concludes that farmers’ awareness of long term land tenure security does indeed improve their investments in soil health related measures.

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• Japanese researchers have succeeded in capturing images of the roots of a plant absorbing nutrients in the soil and interacting with microorganisms for nourishment, a world first!

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• Plastic pollution in soils is an increasing concern. This research conducted in the Antarctic found soil microplastics in the guts of collembolas, tiny soil animals; this suggests microplastics may be permeating terrestrial food webs.

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• A 20-year field experiment reveals crop rotations help to alleviate risks to soil and environmental health including increased acidification, nitrogen loss and greater nitrous oxide emissions.

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• A number of the Soil Care Network members have published a special section on soils in the journal Environmental Humanities this month. The co-editors, Anna Krzywoszynska and Greta Marchesi, argue for a relational approach to soil research. Greta Marchesi’s paper discusses the importance of Justus van Liebig’s chemical model of soil fertility to the reorganisation of capitalist agricultural production. Anne O’Brien investigates soil as an object of environmental ethics, and proposes soil integrity as a practical and ethical way of relating to soils. Germain Meulemans thinks through soils and the city, from the exclusion of soils to current methods of soil design (pedogenesis). Anna Krzywoszynska notes a shift from working the soil to working with the soil in industrial agriculture, and considers the consequences of casting soil biota as labourers involved in making soils resource-ful. In the postscript, Lesley Green writes: “Reclaiming human attention to soil relationality is the humus of an ecological politics. Centralizing these practices will entail political struggle over what is considered rational, reasonable, normal, and common sense”..

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Soil policy and social movements

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• The UN celebrated international Desertification & Drought Day, this year focusing on the destructive impact of human over-production and over-consumption, suggested to be the ‘leading cause of land degradation. The take-home message was a move towards global sustainable production of food, fibre and fuel.

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• In the UK, Sustain have published an excellent report "A Green and Pressured Land”, which discusses the many pressures on land in the UK and our use of land overseas, including the impact of agriculture and the types of food consumed. Their 8 recommendations include the need for all organisations, agencies, political parties and researchers to consider the whole land requirement and impacts when suggesting new land uses. 

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• The Global Landscapes Forum Conference was held at the beginning of June with participants from all over the world; you can read the outcome statement here, advocating One Health and landscape-based approaches, and the democratisation and decentralisation of knowledge.

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• The Land Portal, which provides access to land data and information to those with the most insecure land rights, has published its 2019 report – read about how they are making a change .

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• The renowned soil scientist Prof Rattan Lal has been recognised with a World Food Prize for his contribution to combining food security and resource conservation.

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Soil essays and long reads

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• This editorial is a nice introduction to the links between soil and human health, with a focus on nutrition, pollution, climate change, and food production.

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• Thinking of becoming a soil-maker? Check out this engaging editorial in which a scientist narrates his personal journey into composting at home.

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Fun stuff!

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• The fantastic collective called Compost Mentis has just published their 1st Zine on Soil Care in Quarantine – you can order it here and support the Black Land and Spatial Justice fund

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• Missing the music? As part of Electric Dreams Online, the Queer Ecologies Collective is holding a Microbe Disco – “We invite you to join us for a multi-species & multi-generational virtual disco, offering a unique opportunity to meet your companion species, move with algae, moss, viruses, grass, skin, bark, poetry and other rhythmic delights under the microscope”. 15th of August on your screen, phone or tablet – pre-book here.

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