The 2011-2012 Soil Carbon Challenge baseline tour has come full circle. I arrived back home in northeast Oregon's Wallowa County on the last day of March 2012, after 250 days on the road and 12,137 miles in the converted school bus as well as several side trips by car, plane, and train. It was a fantastic trip, and I'm deeply grateful to all those whom I visited for their participation and hospitality.
So far, over 60 people have participated in the Challenge, with baseline plots to measure soil carbon change, from California to Vermont, Mexico to Canada. I expect to be able to post the remaining baseline data on the map shortly. Here's a newspaper article about the last plot on this baseline tour.
Later this year I will be venturing out to do more baseline plots, monitoring demonstrations, and workshops. Advance notice, publicity, and scheduling are things I hope to improve.
Though the baseline tour has ended, the Challenge has forward momentum. It is open to additional participation, localization, and adoption. The monitoring and design are open-source and can be adapted and localized. As Joe Morris in California has recognized, the Challenge is a movement, or the beginnings of one.
As of this writing (March 2012) the Soil Carbon Challenge is only functioning in North America. We think it makes sense for other areas as well. If you are interested in helping start a Challenge in another area, this page is an attempt to give some guidance and encouragement.
First, a diagram of the policy situation around soil carbon in the U.S. and several other countries:
Situation: For years, working groups and strategy sessions on soil carbon have focused hopes on a market for soil carbon credits or offsets. Even with the failure of cap and trade in the US Senate, this focus dominates policy conversations in the U.S. and elsewhere.
There is relatively little data on soil carbon change, especially from nonstandard land management strategies. Understanding of how carbon cycling works, in complex situations and with various types of management, is shaky and overly influenced by all the factors on the upper layer on the left, above.
Worst possible outcomes: this focus continues to occupy hopes and dreams, time and energy. A workable market or incentive does not emerge. Or, if a market emerges, it rewards practices rather than performance, does not use or respect the creativity and commitment of farmers and graziers, does not significantly enhance soil health, or cannot be maintained. We remain in the situation pictured on the left, above, and typically managing AGAINST what we or others do not want, such as greenhouse gas emissions.
Seth Itzkan kindly provided some video of the short talks at this event at Stan and Helen Ward's Three Springs Farm in Waitsfield, Vermont on October 21, 2011.
Peter Donovan and Abe Collins are co-founders of the Soil Carbon Coalition, which initiated the Challenge.
Seth Itzkan is a futurist from the Boston area who recently spent 6 weeks at the Africa Centre for Holistic Management in Dibangombe, Zimbabwe.
In January, 7 land managers hosted me as I sampled and established baseline sites (22 total so far) for the California Challenge. The weather was ideal.
On January 24, the Morris family hosted a meeting in at the St. Francis Retreat Center in San Juan Bautista facilitated by Jeff Goebel with at least 55 people participating. The purpose of the meeting was to highlight the possibility of turning atmospheric carbon into water-holding, fertility-enhancing soil organic matter, and engage people's interest and creativity in this possibility. In the afternoon, after an excellent lunch prepared by the Retreat Center that included Morris Ranch grassfed shortribs cooked with balsamic syrup, Joe Morris led us on a short walk where he explained how their grass-fed beef enterprise depended on, and could probably continue to enhance plant productivity, soil cover, soil organic matter, and soil water, and how his holistic decision framework connected it all.
I felt that the meeting was an excellent start. At the close, some people expressed a desire for more basic information on the subject, and some for more detail, such as suggestions for their particular situation. I've been trying to meet these needs with this website (or http://managingwholes.com), and hope to organize things a bit better as we go. In the meantime, browse the information on the right hand side, and use search, or feel free to ask specific questions.
To the participants: Now that you've had some time to reflect, what did you learn from our meeting and afternoon at Joe Morris's ranch, and how do you feel about it?
What would you recommend, going forward? What can we do to create more movement in California, in building soil organic matter?
This Challenge is to see how fast managers of grasslands in California can turn atmospheric carbon into water-holding, fertility-enhancing soil organic matter. It began January 2011 when Peter did some baselines in California. To see about baseline plots (current estimated cost, $250 apiece), contact him.
The California Grassland Carbon Challenge is part of the Soil Carbon Challenge, using the Challenge's monitoring methods, design, procedures, and deliverables.
The Soil Carbon Challenge is not for everyone. It is for:
Those who are, or will be, managing for more carbon (and water) in their soils and enhanced ecological function, and who want feedback and accountability relative to this goal.
Those with the management capacity to benefit from the monitoring of soil carbon change.
Those who have commitment. This is a 10-year monitoring program.
If you are one of these people, or you or your organization are interested in sponsoring or participating in this monitoring, please contact us.
The Soil Carbon Challenge soil carbon monitoring procedure is aimed at detecting change over time. The projected normal sampling schedule is at years 0 (baseline), 3, 6, and 10.
Decide on number and locations for permanent plots or monitoring locations with the people involved, and on depths to sample. Considerations of experimental design, differences in past, present, or future management, vegetation, soil types, and slope all play a role. Try to be representative and strategic with plot locations: not at foot of eroding slope, not right next to a water trough.
Mark the plot with permanent stakes or markers, depending on the situation, using surface monitoring location references if a surface monitoring transect or plot is used for the carbon plot location. If not, set up carbon plot center on a marked transect with GPS as well as reference locations established with tape and compass. If one or more markers disappear, or if GPS satellites become space junk, the plot can still be relocated.
At each plot, do a surface assessment of ecological processes, including photography of the surface cover. For rangelands, we like the Land EKG method.
The carbon plot is 4 m x 4 m. Try to keep surface disturbance to a minimum. Take bulk density samples from a small soil pit at a plot corner for each depth sampled (e.g. 0-10 cm, 10-25 cm, 25-40 cm, which in inches is approximately 0-4, 4-10, 10-16 inches).
Take 8 core samples for each depth sampled. In general, we bulk samples from each layer. For specifics of the monitoring method, see the latest version of Measuring Soil Carbon Change (2 Mb pdf).
The Soil Carbon Challenge, or World Carbon Cup, is an international (and localized) prize competition to see how fast land managers can turn atmospheric carbon into soil organic matter. It has begun (first entry described here, April 2011 update here,, September 2011 update here) and we're actively seeking new entrants, partnerships for localized or sector-specific competitions, and suggestions.
Vermont Soil Carbon Challenge launched in October 2011.
Why?
Today we understand as never before the crucial role that soil carbon plays in biosphere function, soil fertility, flooding and drought, biodiversity, and the carbon content of the atmosphere.
Today we understand as never before the crucial role that carbon-rich soil organic matter plays in the quantity and quality of the food we grow, in moderating flooding and drought, in the quantity and quality of runoff and groundwater, in biodiversity, and in the composition of the atmosphere, especially its carbon content.
However, our institutions and political systems have been largely unable to take advantage of the great opportunity this understanding offers, because like most of us they focus on problem-solving, on managing against threats. For example, since 1900 the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been managing against food contamination, low prices for agricultural commodities, soil erosion, hunger and malnutrition, fire in the forests, nitrate pollution, and on and on. The #1 recommendation to land managers of its small Soil Quality Team is to enhance soil organic matter, yet the overall effect of USDA policies, by fostering tillage, fire, and chemical use, is to oxidize large tonnages of soil carbon into the atmosphere, and limit its replenishment.
Climate policy proposals are even more tightly focused on problem-solving, on threats and risks. Because of the great size of the soil carbon pool compared to atmosphere and vegetation, and the magnitude of its responses to human decisions, the soil carbon factor threatens to reframe the climate debate, discomfiting both climate activists and agribusiness, and increasing the uncertainties all around. Proposals to commodify soil carbon as a potential "offset" to fossil fuel emissions have raised resistance from every sector and stripe, yet such proposals have framed almost all of the recent research on soil carbon.
If you want to find out how fast a human can run 100 meters, do you build a computer model, do a literature search, or convene a panel of experts on human physiology to make a prediction?
No, you run a race. Or many of them.
There’s been tons of talk about soil carbon, but it’s time for motion: to show with good data what’s possible, and recognize those land managers who know how to increase soil carbon.
Where things are stuck or the way forward is unclear, a competition can supply creative and unconventional solutions. A competition can leapfrog the decades-long cycle of research, pilot projects, legislation, and incentives, and can showcase leadership based on knowhow and performance rather than on promises and predictions. A competition can tell the stories of soil carbon to citizens, governments, and farmers better than anything else. Competitions change the question from Can it be done? to How well, and how fast?
The Soil Carbon Challenge measures soil carbon change with permanent plots, field sampling, and dry combustion tests. Three baseline plots make an entry, resampled at years 3, 6, and 10.
It’s not an offset scheme. It’s the next agricultural revolution, and you can bring it to your district, sector, or community.
We're proud to report that Tony and Andrea Malmberg, of Union, Oregon, experienced ranchers and holistic planned graziers, are the first entrants in the Soil Carbon Challenge.
The Soil Carbon Challenge is an international as well as local competition to see how fast land managers can turn atmospheric carbon into soil organic matter, and recognize those who do (see sidebar).
When. The first two carbon plots were established and sampled on August 16, 2010, and the third was established and sampled on September 24, 2010.
Where. North and east of Elgin, Oregon, the Malmbergs' property consists of gently sloping grasslands with some patches of timber. Elevation is about 3600 feet (1100 meters) above sea level and average precipitation is about 15-20 inches (380-500 mm) annually. The predominant soil is a mollisol, Lookingglass silt loam.
Tony Malmberg during soil sampling on CRP ground.
Why. "We have an unlimited source of energy that's totally free," says Tony. "The sun. To maximize that free source of energy, our ecosystem process needs to be hitting on all four cylinders, that is the water cycle, mineral cycle (including carbon), energy flow, and community dynamics. Monitoring data provides me with measurable indications to confirm we are moving in the direction we want with our resource base."
For these experienced ranchers and graziers, establishing baseline monitoring was a natural first step with their recently purchased property. For the function of the ecosystem processes at the soil surface, they chose the Land EKG method developed by Charley Orchard (http://landekg.com). "Land EKG provides the diagnostic test to know where we best focus our tune-up to get the ecosystem engine humming," says Tony.
"The carbon data tells us how much horsepower we’ve got under the hood, or under the soil surface in this case."
Soil carbon is a basic indicator of ecosystem function, water retention, and productivity. We used the Soil Carbon Coalition's plot specifications to co-locate permanent plots with the Land EKG transects that Charley Orchard set up and read.
"Acknowledging diverse social values, and meeting increasing demands for enhancing water cycling and carbon cycling can be important in marketing our grass fed beef," notes Tony. He regards both Land EKG and the monitoring of soil carbon change provided by the Soil Carbon Challenge to be important to his success.
John Cheever and Tony Malmberg consult the grazing plan prior to turning in cattle 23 years after the property was enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program
The monitoring, both above and below ground, may also provide education and policy guidance. "After setting up a Land EKG transect and reading it, you will never look at your landscape the same again. We learn to see the signs of our land health, or lack of it. This gives us a language to communicate, and a way of engaging with the public, with agencies, and with our main street community around ecosystem health."
One of the ways Tony hopes to engage with policy is by creating an example of a successful transition away from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), in terms of land health, community health, and economics. The property, which the Malmbergs recently purchased, has long been used for grazing, and for wheat farming. In 1987, several hundred acres of the farm ground were enrolled in the new CRP, and seeded to perennial grasses.
Google Earth is a free computer program that enables you to mark points and outline areas on a global map that is based on satellite imagery. You must be online in order to use it, and a faster connection helps.
The Google Earth User Guide can be accessed from the Help menu in Google Earth. Exploring it can give you some basic tips and skills for using the program, finding places, navigating, and so on. The following sections review how to set and edit a placemark or point, how to draw and edit a polygon or area, and how to send the resulting .kmz files to other people.
Creating a placemark
In Google Earth, navigate to where you want the placemark. Click the Add Placemark button at the top of your screen (with the yellow pushpin).
1. A window will appear, which you can move out of the way with your mouse, in which you can enter name, coordinates, style information, the height of the view, and any other info in the description window.
2. A pushpin will appear in the center of the 3D viewer, with a flashing box around it. You can position the pushpin with your mouse.
3. When you click OK on the window, the placemark is saved in your My Places folder (left hand side of the screen). Subsequently, you can navigate to this placemark by double-clicking on it. You can choose to reveal it or hide it using its checkmark box.
4. To edit the placemark after you have saved it, you can right click on it in Windows/Linux and choose Properties. This opens the window, where you can change its location, information, view, altitude and description. Click OK to save.
Creating and editing a polygon or area
To create a polygon or area, navigate so that the entire area of your polygon is in view. Click the Add Polygon icon to the right of the Add Placemark icon at the top of the screen.
