It takes 500 years to restore one inch of topsoil.
Source:
NG Collapse. How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.
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The percent of #topsoil moisture in the short to very short category is 73% nationally, up 5% from last week.
Nationally, this is the highest value over the past 10 years.
Gateway to the #underworld: The enormous #permafrost '#megaslump' in #Siberia that keeps getting bigger
The growing "gateway to the underworld," officially known as the #BatagayMegaslump, is the largest megaslump in the world and exposes permafrost layers that are 650,000 years old.
By Sascha Pare
published September 13, 2024
"The 'gateway to the underworld' is a colossal, expanding crater in Siberia's permafrost. It is officially called the #Batagay (also spelled #Batagaika) crater or megaslump and formed when a portion of hillside in the #YanaUplands collapsed in the 1970s.
"However, the crater wasn't discovered until 1991, when satellite images revealed a rounded cliff face towering over a huge depression in the frigid landscape.
"The Batagay crater is the largest megaslump in the world, measuring 3,250 feet (990 meters) wide as of 2023. The cliff face at the top of the formation, or headwall, stands 180 feet (55 m) high.
"When it opened, the gateway exposed layers of permafrost that had been frozen for up to 650,000 years — the oldest permafrost in Siberia and the second-oldest in the world, after relict ground ice in #Canada's #YukonTerritory that is about 740,000 years old. Recently, researchers found that the gateway is expanding annually by about 35 million cubic feet (1 million cubic meters), with the depression sinking further into the ground and exposing new layers of ancient permafrost.
"The headwall of the gateway is also retreating at a rate of 40 feet (12 m) per year due to permafrost thaw, discharging massive amounts of ice and sediment into the crater, according to a 2024 study. Some of this melt material may remain in the crater, but #sediment and ice also washes into the #BatagayRiver valley at the far end of the gateway, researchers noted in the study.
"The permafrost in this region is 80% ice, which is likely why the hillside slumped in the first place, Thomas Opel, a paleoclimatologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany who has studied the gateway to the underworld, previously told Live Science.
"The gateway sits in a landscape of larch and birch #woodlands that became the target of #deforestation from the 1940s onward. Deforestation caused the #topsoil to rapidly erode and expose the underlying permafrost, which — due to its icy composition — melted more quickly than if it had been richer in sediments. Significant melting during the following decades caused the hillside to disintegrate and collapse, Opel said."
Live Science · Gateway to the underworld: The enormous permafrost 'megaslump' in Siberia that keeps getting bigger
The mistakes we have been making in agriculture EXACTLY mirror the mistakes we've been making in society.
This may sound trite, but it's a VERY simple and blunt truth: the more diversity, the better. Whether we're talking about plants in the ground or people in your community. Without diversity, we will die.
The harder we try to exert control, the worse the consequences come back around to bite us in the ass. Whether this is about forcing crops to grow in straight lines and killing everything that isn't the desired product, or forcing people to behave in a certain manner-- it works the same way.
Hubris leads to unforseen consequences-- and keeps us repeating the same mistakes over and over and over again long past the time we should've learned better. The arrogance of insisting we know better than nature, the obsession with manipulation, keeps us from admitting conventional wisdom is flawed. Even when it is killing us.
We can do better.
The results sound too good to be true, and yet... The measurements are right there. Better than most of us would have ever imagined. Even with the proof RIGHT THERE on the farm next door, neighbors will still insist on sticking to the doomed methods we've been taught are the "best" way (indeed, entrenched obsolete agricultural policies will actually penalize doing anything differently).
This farmer got a kick start, when 4 years of total disasters kept him from harvesting anything from his ranch-- inadvertently resting and replenishing the depleted soil. He took a big risk, switching to no-till; he actually sold his tilling equipment in order to afford the no-till drill seeder.
His land is now 5x as fertile as that of his neighbors, and sits pretty while they flood in the rain.
No pesticides. No herbicides. No synthetic fertilizer. No ploughing.
Throughout this video, he keeps emphasizing how crucial it is to incorporate carbon into the soil-- for production, for profit. He's not even talking about atmospheric CO2-- it just so happens that sequestering carbon in living ecosystems is the best way to produce food.
Even though he's still probably a pretty conservative guy, still treating animals like walking coin purses, even he has been learning how to work WITH the land.
Why isn't this sort of thing all over the news? Why isn't it taught in every ag school? This video and others like it have been increasingly making the rounds, but...
When it DOES show up in the news, what do we see?
...Frightened, struggling, impoverished farmers protesting in horror because the government is restricting their fertilizer use.
Remember that poem about washing the dishes? And how if you drop one on the floor, maybe they won't tell you to wash the dishes anymore...?
When environmental policies are enacted, it works in much the same way as many policies for social justice-- if it's implemented in the worst ways, guaranteed to piss people off, it compromises the results. Then people can claim "See?? We tried! And it doesn't work!"
Command farmers to use less fertilizer without explaining WHY, without massive educational campaigns showing how regenerating the soil actually works, leading with punishment instead of excitement-- and the environmental effort is shot in the foot. Stirring up resentment against the whole idea. Protecting the companies that profit off the doomed status quo.
Same thing when drugs are decriminalized in some half-assed way WITHOUT implementing sufficient treatment programs. Same thing with some Affirmative Action over here but not touching the mass incarceration or poverty or other systemic drivers over there.
We can't halfass things anymore. We can't settle for the performative and poisoned false "reforms" that won't actually get the job done.
Real solutions take big changes. It takes thinking profoundly differently. Tear apart every unexamined assumption.
#Agriculture
#RegenerativeAg
#Soil
#Topsoil
#Farming
#Grazing
#Pasture
#ClimateChange
#SolutionsExist
PhotoSniperFox#Irresponsible #Land developers #bulldoze dozens of #acres of #trees and #plants that hold the #topsoil in place. Massive #flooding is the logical consequence.
#LandDevelopers expect you to eat the #bill when they #flood your #house.
It is possible to develop land without stripping the ground to the bare earth and burning everything left, as shocking an idea as that may be.
But when the article leaves open the question of "Who's Paying When They Flood Your House?"
it's you. What are you going to do? #Sue them? You'll never recover enough to matter, especially after fees.
Their plan is to fuck over everyone around them and not care what happens as a result, and they answer, effectively, to no one.
Don't contact your #representative over #counties communicating, ask them to #ban this #dangerous and #destructive practice throughout the #state of #Florida.
Orlando Sentinel · A development in Orlando keeps flooding a neighborhood in Osceola. Residents don’t know where to turn.
@compost
The problem is not only loss of topsoil.
Some examples:
* we hardly had any plums nor cherries the last couple of years. Why? When the trees are in full blossom a week of rain ruins everything (+ the fact that there are no bees with cold rainy weather anyway)
* Onions bolt when temperatures fluctuate heavily. On top of that wetter springs make them rot away. Same kind of story for garlic. (professional growers in my region complain about this a lot!)
The best bet for annuals is nowadays to sow as many times as possible a couple of weeks apart and hope that some batches will succeed.
The whole climate change problem related to food production is soooo much more complex and diverse than what most people (non growers especially) realise.
It's not without reasons that I'm very pessimistic about the future.
Meeting material needs should come without health risks or #environmental costs. No human activity should lead to #habitat destruction, #deforestation, contamination, #topsoil loss, #erosion, or damage to earth’s surface and subsurface. People must be able to occupy an area without creating a lasting footprint. Non-destructive resourcing is lightweight, responsive, interconnected, and fully removable—leaving an area as if in a pre-human state.
Enumerating soil biodiversity
"we show that soil is likely home to 59% of life including everything from microbes to mammals, making it the singular most biodiverse habitat on Earth"
https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2304663120
Also
https://rabble.ca/environment/life-filled-and-life-giving-soil-is-too-precious-to-waste/
"The Midwestern United States has lost 57.6 billion tons of #topsoil due to farming practices over the past 160 years, and the rate of #erosion is 25 times higher than the rate at which topsoil forms.
#NoTillFarming can extend our current level of #soil fertility for the next several centuries. This has implications for everything from food security to #ClimateChange mitigation."
#Food #FoodSecurity #CarbonFarming #permaculture
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230525141241.htm
ScienceDailySaving our soil: How to extend US breadbasket fertility for centuriesThe Midwestern United States has lost 57.6 billion tons of topsoil due to farming practices over the past 160 years, and the rate of erosion, even following the U.S. Department of Agriculture's guidelines, is still 25 times higher than the rate at which topsoil forms. Yet, we need not despair: researchers recently reported that no-till farming, which is currently practiced on 40 percent of cropland acres in the Midwest, can extend our current level of soil fertility for the next several centuries. This has implications for everything from food security to climate-change mitigation.
Last month I got to visit #Tropicalfruitworld in my goal to #explore my home a bit more.
I have realised that my vocabulary is extraordinarily smaller for fruit than what actually exists. 500 species were on that #farm it was insane.
But I learnt a few really cool thing they were doing in regards to #sustainability and helping the #topsoil and #earth which I thought would be fun to share:
They drop trimmed branches and twigs straight onto the ground to act as mulch and recycle nutrients back into the soil. They're focusing on #healthy not aesthetic Some trees are specifically planted and "sacrificed" to #bats and #birds so as to keep them off the others. My husband was the one who used the word sacrifice instead of prevention, he kept snickering about it. All I can picture is an aztec-esque ritual with a Papaya on the stone. They let out the #donkeys, #sheep, #goats to graze under the #trees. Acting as mowers and fertilizers. They may also release the #kangaroos but not sure. Did see the cutest Joey!! Flicking his little head around while laying with mum. Keep #bees which help with #pollination. There were #sugarbagbees and European #honeybees
It was just alot of fun on the tour outside of the learning. One of the best things I saw were these pretty things. Australian almonds which were all shades of blue and purple. When cracked open they look like #coconut .
Completely recommend if ever in the area
The decline of the #EarthWorms population is global.
This is a tragedy because they are our best ally to help decompose the organic matter.
They provide the most powerful #fertilizer that we know of. They help us reduce the volume of trash. They help shape our #landscape, feed our livestock...
I talk on this profile about how to farm them on a small scale.
#compost #soil #topsoil #regenerativefarming #permaculture #gardening #vermiculture #wormcasting #GrowYourOwn
The amount of topsoil moisture rated short to very short is highest in Nebraska and South Dakota at 89% and 88%. The value for the contiguous US is 50%, which is considerably higher than the previous 7 years. This is the last USDA issuance of moisture values for 2022.
#drought #Nebraska #SouthDakota #topsoil #moisture #USDA
Create a #connection to the #ground. Did you know that you can #paint with #soil or #rock? Even if you don't grind these natural #pigments finely (like here), they can be turned into paint with simple solvents. In the 2nd photo, you can see the differences: I diluted it with water or white glue. You can experiment with oils or egg yolk. Not all #pigments are lightfast. The ones mixed with water look the most #natural but are not very durable. What I like about unground #earth pigments is that their #structure can be felt.
I have also experimented with unusual things here: #Crude #oil that comes out of the earth when it rains or #earthworm poop. The #ochre comes from a medieval #quarry. Experiment with how your #soils look #painted, you only need a little!
#reconnectwithnature #natureconnection #art #topsoil #soilhealth #biodiversity #urbanbiodiversity #Colours #watercolours #NatureMatchCuts #experiment #traditional-art #traditionalKnowledge #culturalheritage
I have also experimented with unusual things here: #Crude #oil that comes out of the earth when it rains or #earthworm poop. The #ochre comes from a medieval #quarry. Experiment with how your #soils look #painted, you only need a little!
#reconnectwithnature #natureconnection #art #topsoil #soilhealth #biodiversity #urbanbiodiversity #Colours #watercolours #NatureMatchCuts #experiment #traditional-art #traditionalKnowledge #culturalheritage
New report on #heavyMetals in #babyFood and other #foods not just for #children's consumption.
Its not getting the #corporateMedia's attention due to #advertising money, but these toxic substances cause lifelong #developmentalProblems and #brainInjury:
http://www.rt.com/shows/americas-lawyer/521762-fda-congressional-report-tainted-baby-foods/
So many questions here…
Why is #topSoil riddled with #lead and #mercury? When were #farmers told to remove this topsoil?