Thank you for this important effort.
I am soil4climate, soil-age, Sols Vivants Québec advisory board member.
Involved with biochar, a structuring soil amendment than can hold and retain fertilizers — member of the International Biochar Initiative.
Our comments:
- Shall present soils as a living organism — a quality attributed to animals, human, the general environment, but not to soils.
- Lets underline carbon as a driver of fertility, of water retention and absorption, and, of climate change reversal.
- Underestimation of chemical fertilizers in reducing, by oxIdation, carbon content in soils — especially when combined with soils’ tilling. World agriculture lands have lost 50-70% of their carbon content (R. Lal).
- Synthetic fertilizers are not renewable. They will peak, and deplete. Strong dependance of some synthetic fertilizers on depleting fossil-fuels.
- We could see more of a holistic approach, including healthy soils’ services: erosion control, healthy soils bringing biodiversity, water retention of soils with high carbon contents, historical co-evolution of soils and big herds of wild animals and need for proxies. We could read more: circular economy, potential of organic fertilizers for ‘regenerative agriculture’ and soils’ restoration, biodiversity for a livable climate, ecosystems restoration for global warming reversal.
Kind regards,
Benoit Lambert, PhD
Dr. Benoit Lambert