Professor Dawit Solomon spoke last week about the importance of soil and its role in climate change. Soil calls many things to mind, including everything from a medium for plant growth to a foundation on which we build. However, when viewing soil in terms of its nutrients and chemical interactions with the atmosphere, it becomes an even more interesting, more complex, issue. For instance, when studying the potential of biomass to act as a terrestrial carbon sink for the increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, soil is an important component that can affect the effectiveness of this significant sink, meaning that the health of soil plays a large role in climate change.

It was interesting to learn about some of the techniques being used in Africa to improve their soil and reduce waste. By converting previously wasted cow bone into small, carbon-rich pellets and using these to fertilize the ground, the quality of the soil has improved, and with it, the efficiency of plant growth. This is an excellent example of a simple solution that yields many benefits. Not only does this fertilizer improve the health of soils and reduce waste, it also decreases food insecurity and sequesters carbon into the ground very cheaply. This talk certainly offered some new perspective on the interactions between people and the natural environment.