One tablespoon of healthy farm soil contains one billion assorted microbes

1. Biochar Properties Microbial Colonization Microbial Science A Brief History 1676 − Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Dutch microscopist first saw bacteria with a single-lens microscope he built. He published observations in letters to the Royal Society of London. Bacteria were at the limit of his simple lenses, and were his most remarkable microscopic discovery. No one else saw them again for over a century. • One tablespoon of healthy farm soil contains • one billion assorted microbes • one mile of fungal filaments • hundreds of microfauna: nematodes & arthropods, etc. 1000 sq. feet of healthy root zone soil contains 1828 − Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg first used "bacterium” for rod-shaped microbes. In 1835, spore-forming rod-shaped “bacillus” were found. Dirt is inert, but soil is alive • 70 lbs of dead microbes • 7 lbs of Nitrogen • 3.5 lbs pf Phosphate • 1.4 lbs of Calcium • 1.4 lbs of Magnesium • .28 lb of Sulphate 1859 − Louis Pasteur showed that microbes cause fermentation. Yeasts and molds that cause fermentation aren’t bacteria, but fungi. Pasteur was an early advocate of the “germ” theory of disease. Continuous release of these nutrients improves crop production 1905 − Robert Koch, pioneer in medical microbiology, worked on cholera, anthrax and tuberculosis. His research on tuberculosis proved the “germ” theory, which got him a Nobel Prize. Men and microbes have been at war ever since.

2. PARADIGM SHIFT Biochar Properties Microbial Cooperation Microbial Warfare A Brief History Probiotic biological agriculture Antibiotic chemical agriculture Monocropping – low biodiversity Tillage – bare, exposed soil = erosion disturb microbe infrastructures no ground covers, no exudates no shade, hot temperatures, dry Chemical fertilizers – harsh, soluble toxic mineral imbalances functional mineral deficiencies trace element deficits Herbicides no exudate or ground cover collateral disturbance to microbes reduce biodiversity Fungicides, Insecticides, etc. no beneficial symbiotic fungi less water & nutrient capacity carbon & nitrogen losses Stewardship of Soil and Biodiversity how to culture living organisms not inert dirt or sterile chemicals create & sustain habitat, not productivity sustain microbe population explosion not just to survive, but thrive Carbon-Smart Farming Physical environment: infrastructures Temperature: cool, not hot Air & Oxygen: living soil breathes Water: not too dry, nottoo wet Nutrients:microbe & plant food The world’s cultivated soils lost 50 to 70% of their original carbon, much of it oxidized into CO2. Rattan Lal, Director Ohio State University  Carbon Management & Sequestration Center Establish soil mineral foundation Balance major minerals Complete trace elements Adjust Carbon/Nitrogen ratio Recharge Soil Battery: boost CEC & AEC Carbon-Accountable, Climate-Smart Symbionts & Biodiversity Inoculation with Microbes

3. 7 Sun Light Biochar Properties Carbon Dioxide 6 Microbial Colonization photons 5 The Tree of Life O C O 4 3 If you’re not forest, you’re against us H H 2 Boron O SUGAR PHOTOSYNTHESIS ? ? Soil sequesters twice as much carbon as the atmosphere 1 90% of the energy 20% of the energy 40-60% of the energy 60% of the energy 40% of the energy BIOMASS CARBON fixed by photosynthesis is exuded by roots to feed microbes C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C 1 Roots are intelligent communities of cells Roots serve another function: candyman C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C 2 searching for moist, fertile soil… They grow, they sense, they inquire, they acquire, they moisten, they dissolve, they absorb, they adsorb, they share, they supply, they attract, they feel their way thru soil, they change course in a moment, in a constant quest for water & nutrients. The Roots of Life Sugar (sweetness) 3 C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C is made in leaves by photosynthesis CO2 + H2O = C6O6H12 = carbohydrate + O2 travels with Boron down into roots 4 Bacteria Fungi Archaea Actinomycetes Protozoa Algae Nematodes Insects Earthworms Weight of Soil Organisms in top 7 inches of Soil organism pounds/acre Plant roots 2000 Fungi & Molds 2000 Bacteria 1000 Actinomycetes 1000 Earthworms 1000 Protozoa 200 Algae 100 Insects 100 Nematodes 50 5 Grasslands cover a quarter of the land. UN Food & Agriculture Organization estimates grasslands hold 20% of Earth’s soil carbon stock. Much of these grasslands are degraded − U.S. Great Plains Northern Mexico Africa’s Sahel Mongolia Roots− The Sweet Spot 6 distribute sugar to the whole build sugar into structures store sugar as complex carbohydrates sequester carbon as biomass growth 7 The Sweet Spot 8 9 leak sugar into soil exude sugar into soil secrete sugar into soil Root Systems of Prairie Plants 10 Microbes 11 feed on this sugar & other exudates primary food for the Soil Food Web proliferate on & near roots highest concentration is around roots best soil is around roots 12 Soil Minerals 13 +electrolytes− + − electrolytes 14 Soil is the foundation of food production Soil sequesters more carbon than the atmosphere and plants 15 water nutrients Water

4. PARADIGM SHIFT Biochar Properties Sun light Carbon Dioxide Dr. Elaine Ingham O C O photons www.dyarrow.org/SoilFoodWeb H H O Soil sequesters twice as much carbon as the atmosphere C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C PHOTOSYNTHESIS SUGAR C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C simple complex C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C ECOSYSTEM Root Zone mineral biological 40-60% of the energy made by photosynthesis is exuded by roots to feed microbes The Underground Economy ? Water carbon trading Soil is the foundation of food production

5. PARADIGM SHIFT Biochar Properties Bacteria-Fungi Balance Hardwood Forest Primitive Shrub First True Plants Primitive Grass Conifer Forest Lichen & Moss Prairie Grass Bare Rock fungi WATER Average soil has 5,000 microbe species 25,000 is a healthy number simple complex EARTH ECOSYSTEM plant biological microbe mineral animal MINERALS RATIO 1 : 10,000 1 : 10 1 : 1 1 : 100 1 : 1,000 Bacteria bacteria : primary consumers − transform geology into biology − turn minerals into protoplasm The Underground Economy Fungi : secondary digesters − break down biomolecules networks of mycelium scavenge nutrients, distribute energy & share information Most crops prefer fungal-dominant soil, except Brassicas Fungi form spores the second of a two year life cycle Soil tilled yearly can never be fungal-dominant carbon trading Feed the soil, not the plants provide water, food & shelter for microbes PHOTO: Josiah Hunt, Hawaii Biochar