blueberries and cherries

Climate Change & Conservation News

Agriculture

Corn
Judy Anderson

Soils could be affected by climate change, impacting water and food

Rutgers-led study shows how increased rainfall can reduce water infiltration in soils.

Climate change may reduce the ability of soils to absorb water in many parts of the world, according to a Rutgers-led study. And that could have serious implications for groundwater supplies, food production and security, stormwater runoff, biodiversity and ecosystems…

Read More »
Judy Cow
Pixabay

Oregon State University research shows bright future for agrivoltaics

This Oregon State University study shows that most of the prime, flat land near grid load is already in use as farmland, growing food or ranching livestock. In many US markets, including the Pacific Northwest, agrivoltaics is a solution for the food versus energy transition dilemma.

Oregon is home to more than 37,000 farms across 16 million acres of the state. Our agricultural producers raise animals, supply dairy products, and grow food – and sometimes even generate renewable energy. Wind energy is a good fit in several rural areas of the state where there are strong wind resources and development is compatible with land use and agricultural requirements. While many in the agricultural community have concerns about the ability to farm around solar arrays, for some Oregon farms and ranches, solar development could fit well into their cropping or grazing operations. Such “dual-use development” is subject to rules adopted in 2018 by the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission.

Read More »
Black And White Bird
Pixabay

Climate warming from managed grasslands cancels the cooling effect of carbon sinks in sparsely grazed and natural grasslands

Check out this new research finding that sustainable, optimized grazing and restoration of degraded pasture will be crucial to maintain the cooling effects of grassland carbon sinks.

Grasslands absorb and release carbon dioxide (CO2), emit methane (CH4) from grazing livestock, and emit nitrous oxide (N2O) from soils. Little is known about how the fluxes of these three greenhouse gases, from managed and natural grasslands worldwide, have contributed to past climate change, or the roles of managed pastures versus natural grasslands.

Read More »
A Monarch
Creative Commons

Pollinator deficits, food consumption, and consequences for human health: A modeling study

You might find this study on pollinator decline, and it's impacts on people and food, to be interesting and timely.

Animal pollination supports agricultural production for many healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, that provide key nutrients and protect against noncommunicable disease. Today, most crops receive suboptimal pollination because of limited abundance and diversity of pollinating insects. Animal pollinators are currently suffering owing to a host of direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures: land-use change, intensive farming techniques, harmful pesticides, nutritional stress, and climate change, among others.

Read More »
Compost Infographic
Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Infographic: How composting combats the climate crisis

Visuals are excellent ways to communicate. Check out this infographic, and see what you think.

Composting cuts greenhouse gas emissions, enhances the ability of soil to act as a carbon sink, and builds community resilience to climate disruptions.

Use our new graphic to share these benefits! It is available for your use (with attribution to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance).

Read More »
Soil
Pixabay

Deep soil inventories reveal that impacts of cover crops and compost on soil carbon sequestration differ in surface and subsurface soils

If you're interested in the science behind composting and carbon sequestration, this article might be helpful.

Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) via organic inputs is a key strategy for increasing long-term soil C storage and improving the climate change mitigation and adaptation potential of agricultural systems. A long-term trial in California’s Mediterranean climate revealed impacts of management on SOC in maize-tomato and wheat–fallow cropping systems. SOC was measured at the initiation of the experiment and at year 19, at five depth increments down to 2 m, taking into account changes in bulk density. Across the entire 2 m profile, SOC in the wheat–fallow systems did not change with the addition of N fertilizer, winter cover crops (WCC), or irrigation alone and decreased by 5.6% with no inputs.

Read More »
solar
Judy Anderson

NSAC’s 2023 Farm Bill Platform

This might be something to have on your radar. The "farm bill programs and policies detailing how Congress can better support farmers and ranchers by strengthening their bottom lines, their communities, and their resilience."

NSAC’s comprehensive 2023 Farm Bill Platform provides title-by-title recommendations across farm bill programs and policies detailing how Congress can better support farmers and ranchers by strengthening their bottom lines, their communities, and their resilience. The platform spans key issue areas including natural resource conservation, local and regional food systems, sustainable agriculture research, structural reform to farm programs, and more, with cross-cutting recommendations, focused on advancing racial equity across farm bill programs, supporting beginning farmers, and addressing the climate crisis and its impacts on our food and farms.

Read More »
Corn
Judy Anderson

Climate-smart agriculture Inflation Reduction Act Activation Guide

Check out examples of funding available to farmers and ranchers. This might be something you could share with others.

A broad range of companies within the food sector can use IRA-funded agricultural programs to support their climate goals. On average, two-thirds of food sector companies’ emissions are generated by farm-level production, making on-farm sustainability critical for abatement.

Read More »
Dairy Cow
Judy Anderson

Climate change, antibiotics may threaten soil

Researchers say livestock antibiotic residues can degrade microbe activity when combined with rising temperatures. That doesn't mean making animals suffer, however.

study by researchers at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York, has shown that when rising temperatures combine with antibiotic residues expelled by livestock, it degrades soil microbe efficiency, soil resilience to future stress, and its ability to trap carbon…

Read More »
Cow
Creative Commons

Research report: Antibiotics and temperature interact to disrupt soil communities and nutrient cycling

A study by researchers at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York, has shown that when rising temperatures combine with antibiotic residues expelled by livestock, it degrades soil microbe efficiency, soil resilience to future stress, and its ability to trap carbon.

Soils contain immense diversity and support terrestrial ecosystem functions, but they face both anthropogenic and environmental stressors. While many studies have examined the influence of individual stressors on soils, how these perturbations will interact to shape soil communities and their ability to cycle nutrients is far less resolved. Here, we hypothesized that when soils experience multiple stressors their ability to maintain connected and stable communities is disrupted, leading to shifts in C and N pools.

Read More »