Carbon Farming: A Climate Solution Under Our Feet - NHK WORLD PRIME

[Music] [Music] [Music] people around the world are looking for ways to address the climate crisis there are many solutions we can pursue to reduce and reverse the effects of global heating but there's one that's scalable affordable and effective and it's right beneath our feet soil i'm at an organic farm in new york where people in the community can lend a hand during the growing season let's take a look at the soil it's dark kind of like rich chocolate and it smells clean fresh and earthy that's because the soil here contains a lot of carbon carbon is often villainized in the climate conversation but it may hold the key to tackling the climate crisis today more and more farmers are utilizing carbon that's in the air to enrich the soil which in turn produces more nutritious food some call this regenerative agriculture others call it carbon farming it's a paradigm shift from conventional agriculture and food production earth's atmosphere contains 750 billion tons of carbon and there's twice as much carbon in the soil 1500 billion tons of it [Music] for thousands of years human activities like deforestation and cultivation have released 500 billion tons of carbon from the soil into the atmosphere [Music] modern industrial agriculture has accelerated the pace of carbon emissions that contribute to the warming of our planet [Music] but carbon farming or regenerative agriculture can shift the trend offering a way to put the carbon in the air back into the soil the operative word is regenerative as the methods help restore the soil and revive the natural ecosystem efforts to adopt these methods are now spreading worldwide the so-called corn belt region of the us is a hub for the world's agricultural production grant and dawn breitkreutz are third generation farmers of this land they practice regenerative agriculture we own and operate stoney creek farm here in southwest minnesota along the minnesota river we operate about 1400 acres total here we put into corn soybeans and other grains we have our protein meat sources are we have a cow calf operation you know how long have we been on the regenerative path intentionally probably the last 10 to 12 years in this region many farmers rely on industrial agriculture overheads like fuel for machinery as well as fertilizers and pesticides weigh heavy on their income seeing their profit margin diminishing every year the bright kreutzers turn to a method that doesn't require tilling or chemicals instead of relying on chemicals and human labor their method focuses on regenerating the soil by working with nature this is the color our soil used to be and now we're turning it black this hill would have been all that color that yellow clay and now we've turned it to blacktop song wow even this field that's awesome looks like chocolate cake [Music] so you guys come out and check these fields often all the time now that it started raining we're out here all the time just looking for our aggregation looking to see if the biology came back and by by biology the simplest way for us to look for biology is just earthworm activity that's what we look for and obviously they're back here working away the couple has been reaping the benefits of carbon farming obviously 2018-19 we came through some very wet years and we used to lose a lot of crop on this farm to wet spots you know that would drowned out we lost nothing our crops will just about always be harvestable where some of our neighbors are dealing with flat corn twisted corn that type of stuff there's a lot of benefits to healthy soil what's different about the soil at the bright cruises farm soil expert ray archuleta tells us about its secret hello my name is ray archuleta i'm a retired soil health specialist i retired with the usda nrcs what i'm going to show you here is a rain simulator this basic crude model will show us how powerful functioning soils are archeletta will compare different soils taken from a natural forest a pasture the bright cruises farm and a conventional farm we'll see how much water each type of soil can hold and how much it allows to pass through the bottles in front capture the water that doesn't soak into the soil and runs off and the bottles in the bag catch the water that passes through or infiltrates into the soil so let's start from the forest soil we applied of inch of rain and look how much ran off very little that is excellent that shows that the forest oils are infiltrating and the soil is functioning now look at this forest soil look how much water infiltrated into the forest oil this is exciting that shows that a majority of our forest oils are working now look at the no-till with the cover crops the regenerative notice how much water infiltrated in the regenerative farm and look how little ran off let's look at the conventional look how much water ran off look how much infiltrated between these two the soil from the bright kreutz's farm absorbs more water and allows less of it to run off [Music] its higher rate of infiltration means it can carry water deep into the ground soil that absorbs and holds more water is more resilient against flooding and droughts let's see what happens here you will see that the forest system it's holding its integrity it's clear water's rushing in to fill the pore space notice the column it is clear but notice the conventional soil it's beginning to fall apart please understand soil is the life it's the glues it's the byproducts of organisms and the living plants they create the glues notice this ones the glues have been diminished now let me move this over here so you know what the bright roots is doing they're farming like the forest clear nothing's falling apart all those biotic glues the organic matter it's still present nature does not till her tillage equipment is earthworms living roots life biology notice the columns here this is regenerative agriculture farming like nature natural soil that's not tilled what on earth is happening inside this natural environment plants absorb co2 from the air in a process called photosynthesis [Music] the carbon turns into sugars and other carbon compounds and are secreted through the roots some of those compounds serve as food for microorganisms these microorganisms break down organic substances in the soil making it easier for the plants to absorb nutrients secretions from these microbes as well as waste matter from little creatures like earthworms work as a glue to keep the soil together or aggregate it aggregated soil has spaces that allow for air and water to flow these spaces also create room for roots to grow [Music] this way the more the ecosystem in the soil flourishes the better the soils condition and the higher the amount of carbon in the soil [Music] the bride cruises say they've seen a significant change in their field since they started regenerative agriculture we've we've regenerated some of our soils um and we've seen the benefits of it at one point in time these native prairies are about 12 organic matter we're down to two and 150 years of farming now in say 10 to 15 years of focused regeneration on this land we've got it back up to 5 and 6. if we can keep going the right way and definitely not turn back the other way it gives me hope that generations on this farm and worldwide can survive and thrive in the future [Applause] the couple was inspired to get into carbon farming by gabe brown a pioneer in regenerative agriculture [Music] he himself runs a farm spanning 2 000 hectares in north dakota to tell people about his unique farming method he spends much of the year giving talks about his principles i think that a lot of what we're seeing globally today is a direct result of the mismanagement of our ecosystems because farmers ranchers and others have not used and applied these principles we're now seeing desertification on a much larger scale we've affected the water cycle we're having these extremes in both temperature and moisture and until we change agriculture and change land management practices that's going to continue [Music] brown used to practice conventional farming but he almost went bankrupt after hazardous weather destroyed his crops four years in a row that was a wake-up call he then began to explore regenerative farming he relates his struggles and success in his book dirt to soil in it he summarizes the theory and practice of his groundbreaking farming method into five principles well let's walk out here a little bit to learn the know-how more than 2 000 people a year have visited brown's farm a lot of different plants that's right [Music] i always tell people when they're interested in regenerative agriculture is you have to understand the processes and the principles so the first principle is the least amount of mechanical chemical disturbance possible principle one is to limit the disturbance of soil [Music] okay where in nature do you find tillage you don't people rototill their garden what happens when you do that you destroy the natural home for all that biology the same biology that's going to cycle the nutrients to help those plants grow tilling breaks down the soil structure that has been created by living things it destroys the home of the diverse organisms and creatures that are necessary for the growth of plants no-till farming uses special equipment that cut narrow grooves in the surface just deep enough to plant seeds by not plowing the soil the underground ecosystem remains intact it's not only tail age it's also chemical disturbance so synthetic fertilizer is a chemical herbicides pesticides fungicides that's fighting nature when we do that agricultural chemicals kill not just harmful insects and germs but also microorganisms that are beneficial to plants and it's best to minimize the use of chemical fertilizers as they disturb the symbiotic relationship between plants and microorganisms brown's second principle is to keep the soil covered with natural armor and look here where we're standing look at the armor that residue that's covering the soil that protects the the soil just like our skin protects our body soil should not be exposed but covered with plants at all times this protects it from erosion by wind and water and also prevents moisture evaporation [Music] principle 3 is diversity so look here in this cover crop i actually have about 12 different species of plants growing here together nature aborts a monoculture does not want a monoculture brown says diversity enhances ecosystem function a single species is not enough to ensure a well-balanced soil each plant or living organism plays a role in maintaining soil structure and in creating a resilient healthy soil principle four is to maintain living roots if we look at this like here's a young growing plant this plant is taking in sunlight it's using part of that carbon compounds for growth the rest of it's moving down to the roots and exuding out to attract biology so that biology running its life cycle can feed it nutrients if living roots are maintained in the soil all year round they continue to supply carbon compounds that serve as food for microorganisms this preserves the health of the soil [Music] principle five is to integrate animals into farming livestock have a lot of biology in their guts just like we do as humans that biology then as they're grazing they'll be some of that biology will be expelled through grazing through their manure through their urine that fertilizes the soil and it'll just take your your soil health to another level as a way to achieve that brown uses a form of intensive grazing he divides his pasture into sections and packs one of them with cattle to prevent overgrazing and damage to the soil he moves the cattle frequently creating a more adequate grazing cycle that stimulates the plants to grow and sends more carbon into the soil we can increase profitability and improve advanced soil health in as quickly as two years two years is all all five principles center on the goal of restoring the natural ecosystem of farmland the key is in the relationship between soil roots and microorganisms they interact with each other in a micro world called rhizosphere or rooting zone researchers are uncovering its secrets is an agronomist specialized in soil [Music] his team has succeeded in capturing the world's first visual images of what's happening in the rhizosphere the team conducted an experiment with the plant of the leguminosa family they sandwiched its roots with soil and took images using a special camera they show that carbon compounds generated by photosynthesis are gradually carried down to the roots the red portions indicate larger amounts of carbon when the roots are removed the carbon secretions in the soil are clearly visible this shows how the plant actively releases carbon into the soil to directly interact with the soil and also sustain its symbiotic interaction with microorganisms shinano wants to expand his research so he can help enable sustainable agriculture that doesn't rely too much on chemical [Music] the rhizosphere is the stage for the interactions between soil roots and microorganisms carbon farming fully utilizes the workings of the ecosystem you know we don't have the nicest brown and the bright cratesis have set up organizations to promote and teach carbon farming [Music] meanwhile brown's five principles are also evolving the sixth principle we added recently was context because as we travel extensively around the world we see farmers and ranchers not working within the context of their environment we need to work with nature not against there are six time tested ecological principles that occur anywhere in the world where there's production on land i think this is the only way that agriculture will survive in a way that is truly sustainable and leaves the opportunity for future generations to continue to farm and ranch carbon farming is gaining momentum worldwide the international community is looking to the power of carbon farming to offset our co2 emissions the latest report by the u.n intergovernmental panel on climate change notes that regenerative agriculture is a viable option to address the crisis farms big and small have started to take action in southern japan one entrepreneurial farmer is practicing an effective and low-cost carbon farming method that is also gaining popularity among home gardeners [Music] it all started on this modest two-hectare field on this day people gathered to learn about a simple regenerative farming method anyone can practice organic agriculture that uses the power of microorganisms in the soil [Music] he refers to microorganisms as his friends and affectionately calls them kinchan or deer bacteria [Music] yoshida makes his soil using things that are easily available to make natural fertilizer he ferments food scraps that people would normally throw away he puts them in airtight containers and adds rice bran and salt it's a method similar to that for making japanese pickles [Music] foreign [Music] after about a month of fermentation he mixes the food scraps into the soil [Music] [Music] [Music] yoshida tightly covers it with a black plastic sheet after waiting for about a month the soil will be rich and ready yoshida used to work for the local government as an advisor for farmers he started to question conventional farming because it relies on chemicals so he encouraged farmers to go organic [Music] today [Music] [Music] after resigning from his position at the prefectural government yoshida became a farmer it wasn't easy though he could only rent barren fields that had been abandoned for some time but that was a blessing in disguise by growing vegetables on deserted farmland yoshida experienced the power of nature first hand that marked the beginning of his partnership with microorganisms [Music] yoshida has tried many things to figure out how best to grow microorganisms in the soil of his fields right now he's focusing on making soil using weeds things that farmers usually don't want i know filamentous fungi are microorganisms commonly known as mold yoshida shows us how using weeds can help encourage their growth [Music] yoshida places about five kilograms of weeds per square meter of soil hard fibrous weeds contain a lot of carbon so they're a good choice as food for filamentous fungi konokuwa foreign okay okay [Music] okay if the weeds are too dry that slows decomposition by the fungi so yoshida adds a moderate amount of moisture [Music] to promote active growth of the filamentous fungi he covers the ridge with a plastic sheet to keep it moist [Music] [Music] the preparations took only 30 minutes in two to three months this will turn into fluffy soil with this farming method yoshida created this patch two months earlier he digs a little and there they are filamentous fungi cover the surface of the roots [Music] the fungi have grown quite a bit and have extended thick white filaments called hyphae [Music] the haifi play an important role in the exchange of nutrients between plants and soil [Music] filamentous fungi feed on carbon to grow and eventually extend hyphae into the soil the hyphae are drawn to the carbon released by the plant's roots they attach themselves to the roots as they grow supplying plants with nutrients minerals and moisture the hyphae have developed a symbiotic relationship with the plants now serving as extra roots that help the plants take in nutrients with the help of the fungi crops absorb more nutrients and grow vigorously [Music] yoshida finds all the nutrients he needs to grow crops in the ground courtesy of the microorganisms he says crops grown in such a way are more resilient against disease and pest infestation [Music] [Music] [Music] me yoshida travels around japan to share his method today he's holding a class on his farm the participants are learning how to cull vegetables people from all walks of life attend his class some are interested in environmental issues and others are farmers yes foreign um [Music] yoshida believes in the potential of agriculture and in each of us for solving the global crisis [Music] [Applause] soil rose to the international limelight at the 2015 paris climate conference the french government proposed a plan to reduce our carbon emissions it's called the four per mill or four per thousand initiative by raising the amount of carbon stored in the earth's top soil by 0.4 percent annually or four parts per 1000 we can offset the increase in the amount of carbon in the atmosphere that's the idea behind the initiative in achieving this goal people are looking to an age-old material called biochar it's a type of charcoal made by burning biomass like wood and bamboo it's used mainly in agriculture [Music] this farm in central japan actively uses biochar is a fruit wholesaler he and his colleagues have been growing japanese plums and persimmons for 15 years they've been employing biochar to improve the quality of the soil in their fields hi rents abandoned orchards and revitalizes the soil using biochar [Music] m [Music] he waits for about one year for the chopped wood to get dry before turning it into biochar [Music] trees take in carbon from the atmosphere to grow and extend their trunk and branches by turning them into biochar the absorbed carbon can be locked in for 100 to even 10 000 years [Music] before the wood is completely burned water is poured over it and the biochar is ready [Music] cyclone sizes burying this biochar will trap atmospheric carbon into the earth and help regenerate the soil at the same time [Music] biochar's ability to improve soil comes from its porous structure which excels at both storing and draining water old trees are often thrown away as waste but amimir makes sure they are given a new life his fruits are very popular for their shape and flavour [Music] [Music] but it's not just biochar they remove weeds and use them to fertilize the soil they also use compost and all kinds of other farming methods to store carbon in the soil [Music] he and his group have won recognition for their contribution toward a carbon-free society yamanashi prefecture has certified their farm products under its four per 1000 initiative to receive this certification they had to trap at least one tonne of carbon in every [Music] foreign hi [Music] others are finding different ways to produce biochar forests account for 80 percent of the land in yamanashi [Music] at this power plant lumber from forest thinning is used to generate electricity [Music] it started its operation in may 2021 they hope to harness the energy needed for local consumption [Music] burning wood for power generation creates biochar as a by-product at first biochar was nothing more than industrial waste its disposal was extremely costly extra income for the dairy farmer and the fertilizer could in turn benefit other farmers once thrown away biochar now creates a local circular economy what's more a new tailwind is helping to further promote it japan became the first country to certify biochar as credit to offset carbon emissions as part of its j credit scheme the credit can be traded on the local and global carbon exchange market farmers can use biochar to sequestrate or remove carbon from the atmosphere the amount of which can be turned into credits to sell to companies that are looking to offset their emissions [Music] kishimoto mo ayaka is a biochar researcher she says the credit scheme will create a virtuous cycle that benefits both biochar using farmers and the environment foreign [Music] the ipcc reports that the potential amount of co2 that can be captured and stored or sequestrated in soil is estimated to be over 2.3 gigatons per year by 2050 as we aim for a carbon-free society hopes are heightening for the possibilities of agriculture and carbon farming is bound to birth new trends for the future [Music] people are blazing new trails toward a more verdant future the farmers we met say our current way of living disrupts the workings of the natural ecosystem that sustains us consider this there are nearly 8 billion people in the world how we grow our food what we eat the choices we make shape our future and that of the planet and it all starts from the ground up [Music] [Music] you

Channel: NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Views: 278,288

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Id: rvHJKqU-mZo

Length: 49min 6sec (2946 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 28 2022

Reddit Comments

[u/Koala_eiO]

I like the water runoff demo at 6:30.

[u/AlertElderberry]

Hi everyone. I'm a (professional) carbon farming researcher since the start of this year, based in West-Europe. I might not be able to answer everything, but AMA about carbon farming!