Mushrooms as Rainmakers
Discover yet another mushroom super power: fungal spores play an important role in stimulating local water cycles!
Farmers Test Whether Cardboard Can Keep Bindweed at Bay
Weed suppression using sheet mulching seems promising for small-scale producers.
Benefits of Cover Crops Extend to Dry Areas
A new study shows that cover crops can improve most ecosystem services in water-limited environments without negative effects on food crop yields.
Pesticides Cause Widespread Harm to Soil Health
New study reviews pesticide impacts on soil, finds harm to soil invertebrates in 71% of cases. Herbicides and fungicides are especially detrimental to earthworms, nematodes and springtails.
Johnson-Su Bioreactor
Dr. Johnson has been doing breakthrough work in regards to the efficacy of biologically diverse, fungal-dominated compost for carbon sequestration and improved soil health and crop yields. The composting system he devised with his wife Hui-Chun Su is called the Johnson-Su Bioreactor.
Why Soil Microbes are Key to your Health
Similar to the human gut, soil contains a living community of microbes. The health of both environments is interdependent and rests on the diversity of the microbial community.
Biodiversity highest on Indigenous-managed lands
Maximizing biodiversity is the second soil health principle. An often cited study, published in 2019 and led by the University of British Columbia, highlights the importance of Indigenous land management in achieving this goal.
Diversified agriculture benefits ecosystems and maintains yields
Diversification has benefits for agricultural production and ecosystem services both above and below ground, but diversification of soil organisms is seldom recognized.
Cattle are part of the climate solution
A conversation with rangeland ecologist Richard Teague, PhD, analyzing the role that adaptive multi-paddock cattle grazing plays in sequestering carbon.
Four decades of no-till study proves nature knows best
At Rogers Memorial Farm, NE, the benefits of long-term no-till practices are manifold. No-till plots have been shown to build soil structure, usually have the highest yields and are the most profitable.