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Research

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• This synthesis of literature on farmers’-decision making on land management suggests that while farmers are motivated by economic outcomes, other factors also have significant effects such as pro-environmental attitudes, goodness of fit, and past experience.

• More evidence that biodiversity is good for soil – including diversity of earthworms

• By forming a ‘gelatinous network’ in soil pores, Bacillus subtilis (UD1022) retains more water in soil – immediately making it an attractive tool for combatting drought in commercial agriculture

• Researchers show that existing low-tech soil carbon sequestration methods can reduce global warming if employed on a global scale – but only if accompanied by a simultaneous reduction in carbon emissions

• Researchers at Aarhus University have developed better methods for tracing chemicals through soil

• Bacteria in soils help plants fight disease (what is most interesting about this, I find, is that this article came out in the Economist!)

• Study in Ethiopia links healthy soils to more nutritious cereals: one of the first studies to reveal the link between soil organic matter and crop nutrient content for a staple crop in a developing country

• Using radar to quickly and cheaply measure moisture in soil

• New antibiotics found – in soil bacteria

 

Soils in the news

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• The first soil museum opens in India’s Thiruvananthapuram, showcasing soils from all around Kerala

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Policy and social movemements

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• IPES-Food have released a new report in which they describe 7 success stories of agroecological transition from all over the globe

• Michael Jeffrey, ex governor general of Australia, issued a report calling for regenerative agriculture and soil conservation in Australia. The report is based on his research as Australia’s national soils advocate. Interestingly, he chooses to use ‘soil security’ as the key framing concept. Importantly, he stresses the need for farmer-led research as part of the picture

 

Editorials, blogs and opinion

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• In this very interesting short note Colin Hill, a professor of microbiology, is commenting on the data overload in microbiome research as most studies focus on better description of the microbiome. He calls for a return to –ology in microbiology, and a greater focus on testing of hypothesis and data analysis. “Is anyone else disappointed that after so many outstanding studies and so many measurements, we still cannot define a healthy microbiome, or understand the dreaded term ‘dysbiosis’?” 

• Striking  a note of caution on the use of mycorrhizal funghi as biofertilisers – very important considering the amount of hype around this technology

• What may it mean to eat in a soil-friendly way?

• Regenerative farming methods as the way to ensure the future of farming in Australia

• The legacy of lead-carrying materials in the US soils is still affecting millions of citizens

• Commentary on China’s new soil pollution legislation

• Signs of uptake of soil conservation by ‘big agri-food brands’ in the US – with water conservation as the main objective. The devil as always will be in the details, but these are certainly interesting trends

• Dredged sediment used to provide topsoil for the reforestation of desertifying areas

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Social science events

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• A member of the Soil Care Network Jenny Elaine Goldstein and colleagues have proposed a fantastic looking panel “Finance and environmental crises: Disaster capitalism beyond the Shock Doctrine” for the American Association of Geographers’ Annual Conference (April 2019, US). Twenty years following the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis and a decade after the 2008 subprime mortgage-led crisis, what have we learned about the ways in which financial failures-cum-opportunities such as currency devaluations or debt crises intersect with environmental crises and/or less spectacular ecological transformations? Contact Jenny for further info goldstein@cornell.edu

• Emma Cardwell (Univ. of Glasgow) and Claire Waterton (Lancaster University) have put together a fantastic one-day conference ‘Socialising Nitrogen’ on 27th November 2018. “Reactive nitrogen pollution is one of the biggest environmental issues in the world, and yet very little social science exists exploring the role of nitrogen in society and its effects for more-than-human communities. Where carbon has prompted a range of responses from the social sciences and humanities, nitrogen (and wider chemistry more generally) remains markedly understudied. With this conference we aim to bring together a range of scholars working on “socialising” nitrogen from across the arts, social sciences and humanities.” See here for more info https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=CRIT-GEOG-FORUM;e78debd7.1810

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Resources

• The Royal Geographical Society Food Geographies Working Group has put together this fantastic collection of agroecology videos