Organic farming locks up carbon in the soil

Sustainable farming is making headlines after researchers discovered a unique connection between organic farming and carbon storage in soil, according to an article posted on Phys.org.

According to their findings, the carbon is preserved in pores, and some of that carbon attaches to minerals in the soil. Ultrabright synchrotron light — a type of light that is more intense and brighter than an X-ray — enabled the researchers to see how the carbon connects to the soil particles.

KSU researchers used the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan and the Advanced Light Source in Berkeley, California, to analyze soil from a Kansas cornfield that had been farmed with no tilling and only manure/compost fertilizer for the past 22 years.

Published in the Soil Science Society of America Journal, the study underscores the benefits of sustainable farming. It highlights how organic compost and manure not only support the health of the soil but also directly fight rising global temperatures through carbon sequestration.