This Past Wednesday I attended a talk from soil expert Dawit Solomon. His research focuses on identifying and quantifying the processes and causes of soil degradation in natural and managed eco-systems. He talked about dark soil, and how it was dependent upon carbon. He mentioned that if it was dark, it lead to great fertile soil. The cool part about it was that the soil was transformed from dry to dark as a result of civilizations adding carbon.

He showed a picture that showed a hole dug to expose the layers of the earth. You could clearly see where the transition from dry to dark fertile soil was. It was cool to learn that you could date when a civilization started based on the amount of carbon in the ground.

He also spoke about how they turned the soil fertile, and how it is not well known. He explained that it has to do with adding carbon from living things back into the ground. A great quote form Garrick was with composting and similar methods, you “shift carbon from the atmosphere, and put it in the ground”. As a result, you prevent global warming. It also helps with making the soil fertile. Bones were apparently the best way to make the soil fertile, which was neat.