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Academic Papers

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As soil carbon markets are emerging, what do farmers think? This survey of 100 farmers in the UK found that farmers do not necessarily want to adopt additional practices, or wish to engage with the carbon market; they also find a gap between farmers' expectations and market demands

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New paper on the enrichment of putative plant growth promoting microorganisms in biodynamic compared to organic agriculture soils

 

And if you are interested in the debates within the community dedicated to soil carbon monitoring and research, this recent paper on the French scientific community will be of interest

 

New paper on EU Soil Mission offers an overview of the European Union Soil Observatory (EUSO) datasets on 18 soil degradation proxy indicator, in the context of the EU Mission “A soil Deal for Europe” and its contributions to the forthcoming Soil Monitoring Law

 

Recent study investigates the potential of citizen science to transform science. Looking at citizen science addressing pollution they suggest avenues to improve dialogue with institutional science practice

 

Drawing on the planetary boundary framework, researchers outlined a safe agricultural space of biodiversity to explore the potential of developing agricultural systems that effectively reconcile food production and biodiversity conservation at large scales

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Recent research explores the role of care ethics in opening spaces of radical contestation in peasant cooperatives

New provocative research addresses misconceptions on soil organic carbon sequestration fueled by recent methodologies used to investigate carbon farming practices

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Soil and Policy

 

Australia has published its National Soil Action Plan 2023 to 2028

 

An interesting reflection on the soil carbon focus in climate change governance, and its limitations, from the Soil Carbon Coalition

 

European Parliament adopted a key law of the EU Green Deal with the Nature Restoration Law. Member states committed to restore 30% of EU degraded habitats in 2030, assessed on the positive evolution of 3 indicators: grassland butterfly index, share of land with high-diversity landscape features, and stock of organic carbon

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Soil Art, Entertainment, and Outreach

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Celebrate the beauty of soil creatures with this gorgeous stop-motion animation Unearthed (password: SOS24). If you wish to use the film, please contact the author Jo Pearl 

 

Save Soil is hosting an art walkathon in Zurich, Switzerland. Submit your artwork and they will print onto T-shirts for FREE or bring your art directly to the event. The walkathon will take place on Saturday, 23 March 2024 at 1 pm in Helvetiaplatz, Zurich. Register at https://savesoil.co/artwalk

 

Kirsten Kurtz manages the soil health lab at Cornell University, but she has been emotionally drawn to soils in other ways, particularly as an artist who now exclusively paints with soil. This vlog is a continuation of their earlier soil series episode found here: The Art of Soil–Painting with Earth

 

In summer 2024, Suitcase in Point will present the 16th annual In the Soil Arts Festival, a one-week multi-arts program in downtown St. Catharines featuring new performance, music, digital art, theatre, interactive experiences and more, including our signature site-specific immersive experience, RHIZOMES.

 

OSU College of Agricultural Sciences’ Art About Agriculture 2024 Open Call for Art invites artists to consider the lifeblood of Pacific Northwest’s agricultural diversity, economy, communities, and culture: our region’s natural resources. This year, we are seeking submissions of art that highlight the foundational elements of food and fiber production. The submission deadline for ‘RESOURCEful’ is March 3, 2024 at 11:59pm. 

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Soil Events

 

TerraEnvision conference has their call for abstracts open, with quite a few sessions on soils as part of nature based solutions.

 

The Horizon Europe’s Mission Soil has opened the Mission Soil Platform - it is a good place to find out about activities related to the Mission, including live projects, monitoring, and events. You can also write to them to publicize your events.

The European Carbon Farming summit is taking place at the start of March in Valencia, Spain. You can follow plenaries online.

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