STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- An estimated 80 percent of soil carbon in heavily farmed areas has been lost due to destructive plowing, overgrazing and the use of carbon-depleting chemical fertilizers and pesticides
- By adding more carbon back into the soil and preventing carbon losses, we can address many of today’s most pressing problems, including dwindling water reserves, soil degeneration and poor nutrition
- Carbon sequestration can reduce the carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere, and once sequestered in the soil, the carbon actively nourishes soil health and improves water retention
- Organic carbon is stored in soil by exclusively binding to certain soil structures, and the soil's capacity to absorb carbon dioxide is directly related to its health
- One way to increase carbon in your soil is to add biochar, which is created by slowly heating a biomass in a low-oxygen environment (such as a kiln) until everything but the carbon is burned off
Read the full article at the Mercola Website