The wettest Autumn in many years has seen large scale destruction in Queensland as billions of tonnes of topsoil are relocated, animals, infrastructure and livelihoods decimated and rebuilding on a mammoth scale contemplated.
While not for a second taking away from the very real tragedy of the floods that affected swathes of our inland, the massive nutrition dump coupled with the unavoidable burst in growth of (photosynthesizing) plants will provide a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to kick start ecosystem function in those “brittle”, (normally) semi-arid environments.
Here in our coastal area, our climate is considered “non-brittle”. We can test and trial land management techniques, and unlike our far-western counterparts we don’t have to wait decades to see the results; high rainfall and humidity ensures they happen fast! The phrase #RegenRegion was coined in recent years in recognition of our region’s ability to regenerate, and for the uptake of Regenerative Farming here.
Soil conditions this year are uniquely primed for an opportunity to rebuild like we rarely see. Rebuilding WHAT is the question?
Nicole Masters recently quoted figures around Ecosystem Services. The services that our landholders provide fellow citizens of the Earth. Little stuff- aesthetics, pollination, moisture retention, habitat, oxygen- just the things that keep the world alive. Things that can now be measured and are being valued.
She said that a poor industrial farming system contributes just $62/Ha in these Ecosystem Services. “Best Practice” conventional up to $1540/Ha while biological/regenerative systems are above $6500/Ha/Yr (in a NZ example).
So in building a healthier farm or forest then, where to start- well that’s simple: Soil and specifically it’s microbial populations. Introducing microbes to a system is cheap and the payback is immense. Afterall it isn’t plant roots that hold soils together- it’s Fungi (Nichole Masters).
Just introducing microbes without acknowledging the living conditions they require however is fruitless.
Dan Kittredge lists the requirements for microbial life as (1) Air (aerated soils- roots, insect holes, yeomans plough etc), (2) Food (no bare soil- an armor of organic ground cover to be decomposed), (3) Water (active water cycles so there’s moisture ALL THE TIME- that means green leaf cover in multiple layers ALL THE TIME), (4) Minerals (Soil Mineralisation) and finally (5) LIFE – (the microbes, diversity of plants, insects and animals).
Why is microbial life important? Well “Nutrient density in food has only one direct correlation with the production system from which it comes – soil microbial levels.” Dan Kittredge.
Plants, insects and animals all live on Microbes; in fact we are largely made up of micro-organisms so building the conditions for their proliferation will be a foundation on which you can build life in all it’s forms!
