My climate change discussion got some interest so a little follow up. Posted this elsewhere: Floods: does anyone find some amazing facts eg 1. Why have we built so many houses on flood plains? (look no further than Maribyrnong in Melbourne) 2. Hearing that Echuca township being saved by a levy of sandbags built LAST WEEK .... WTF, why isn't there a permanent levy there???
And another subject that I knew little about; Crabon in soils. Some facts (I believe, of curse cannot really verify the numbers, but its "the story" I am sharing.) 1. Soils are made in part of broken-down plant matter. This means they contain a lot of carbon that those plants took in from the atmosphere while they were alive. If not for soil, this carbon would return to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas causing climate change.
2.But converting natural ecosystems like forests and grasslands to farmland disturbs soil structure, releasing much of that stored carbon and contributing to climate change.
3. Over the past 12,000 years, the growth of farmland has released about 110 - 133 (the range I have found on net) billion metric tons of carbon from the top layer of soil2—roughly equivalent to 80 years’ worth of present-day U.S. emissions.
4. Storing carbon in agricultural soils: Scientists have estimated that soils—mostly, agricultural ones—could sequester over a billion additional tons of carbon each year.
5. Farmers can add more carbon to agricultural soils by planting certain kinds of crops. For example, perennial crops, which do not die off every year, grow deep roots that help soils store more carbon.
6. Soil - Carbon = DIRT. = increased erosion
7. Soils play a key role in the carbon cycle by soaking up carbon from dead plant matter. Plants absorb CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, and pass carbon to the ground when dead roots and leaves decompose. GJ note; the act of photosythesis and the passing of Carbon into the grpund THROUGH the roots is not clerly explained IMO (I would welcome anyones view who knows about this?)
8. I have often wondered if the vast tracts of Oz that have been cleared and are currently sub optimal farmland could assist if converted to reforestation/ the pure definition of a sustainable industry IMO. Limited info so far.
(20min delay)