Climate change can feel overwhelming. We hear about melting ice caps and rising temperatures, and it seems like only world leaders can make a real difference. But truthfully, the soil beneath our feet is one of nature’s best tools for fighting climate change. It quietly stores massive amounts of carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere.
Understanding Soil’s Role in Climate Change
Soil is basically a giant carbon storage system. Scientists have found that healthy soil holds more carbon than all the trees and plants on Earth combined. That’s billions of tons of carbon safely stored underground instead of being released into our atmosphere and warming our planet.
Here’s what happens: plants pull carbon dioxide from the air through photosynthesis. When plants die or drop leaves, the carbon that was stored in plants is released, either through respiration or combustion, and then goes back into the atmosphere or the soil. Soil microbes then break down this material and lock the carbon underground where it can stay for decades or even centuries.
What Makes Soil Healthy?
Healthy soil is alive. It contains billions of tiny organisms working around the clock that form a complex underground ecosystem. Soil microbial biomass refers to all these living organisms combined. They break down dead plant material and animal waste. They build soil structure that holds water during droughts. And most importantly for climate action, they capture and store carbon.
Simple Steps to Improve Your Soil:
Reduce Tilling and Digging
Every time you disturb soil with a tiller or shovel, you could be destroying microbial networks. These organisms build complex underground structures that help them work efficiently. Breaking these structures sets them back to square one.
Add Organic Matter Regularly
Microbes need food to survive and multiply. Organic matter like compost, mulch, or leaf litter provides this food. When you add these materials to your soil, you’re essentially helping to feed billions of organisms.
Plant Cover Crops
Bare soil is a missed opportunity. When ground sits empty between growing seasons, microbes starve and carbon escapes. Cover crops solve this problem by keeping living roots in the soil year-round.
Reduce Chemical Use
Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides can harm beneficial microbes in the long run. While they might boost plant growth in the short term, they often damage the soil ecosystem that supports long-term health causing greater issues down the line.
Why Test Your Soil?
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Soil testing for climate action gives you concrete data about what’s happening underground. It shows you the current state of your soil’s health and its carbon-capturing ability.
Testing reveals your soil’s microbial biomass levels. High numbers mean your soil is actively storing carbon. Low numbers mean there’s room for improvement. You also learn about the fungal to bacterial ratio, which affects how long carbon stays locked in the ground.
How should you start? Pick one area to focus on first. Maybe it’s your vegetable garden, your front lawn, or a few raised beds. Test that area to establish your baseline numbers.
Choose one or two practices to implement. Don’t try to change everything at once. Start with something simple like adding compost or reducing how often you dig. Small consistent changes produce better results than dramatic overhauls. Track your soil’s biological data over time using the microBIOMETER® and other helpful soil tests.
