Wednesday, February 29, 2012

It All Starts With Soil

There are so many cool things about soil! Without it, we wouldn't have good food, good water, good land to build on, or. . . well, really we wouldn't have much of anything without soil. In this blog post I'm going to run over some of the more tangible aspects of soil, and how it affects you every day.

Recently I read an entertaining and interesting article on The Atlantic that discusses how just smelling soil can boost serotonin (the feel-good chemical your body naturally produces) in your brain. Isn't that amazing? We're genetically inclined toward enjoying being close to the earth! I suspect this is not surprising for many of you. :-)

You know that earthy smell and taste you get especially from certain vegetables grown under soil, like carrots? The smell, called "geosmin" by scientists, lends the sought-after flavor depth to foods.

Another cool thing I learned is that different soils produce different-tasting foods. A tomato from Paraguay will taste differently than an Indiana tomato, simply because they were grown in different soils; a Cabernet from Chile will taste different from a California Cabernet. Cooks call the flavor variations due to the soil in which foods were grown "terroir." The unique bacteria, microbes, and other inputs into the growing land all affect the final product.

On the flip side, a cantaloupe grown in an area with poor soil health - one that has had nutrients leached out of it by any number of poor soil management techniques - will be inferior to one grown in healthy, rich soil.

What this all comes down to is that Everything Starts With Soil. Our very livelihood: our food security; our city and town development; our culture; our natural resources, be they forests, fields, or waterways; they are all profoundly influenced by the health of an area's soil. Land management is soil management.

Learn more about how you can improve and protect your soil's health with the help of your local Soil and Water Conservation District. Click here for a listing of Indiana's 92 county offices.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service also has a wide range of resources for learning about Indiana's soil health, and our strategy for preserving it. Check it out here.

Monday, February 20, 2012

No-Till, No Problem!

No-till field after heavy rain
(with cover crops).
Photo credit: Farm Progress
One of the top recommendations of Indiana's Soil and Water Conservation Districts for farmers is to no-till their land. That's right - put down the plow and let your land take care of itself. It is scientifically proven that no-till farming can be more profitable than traditional tilling methods. (source). The trick is doing no-till correctly, and identifying which practices are best for each farmer's unique operation and land needs.
"Utilizing no-till farming practices has been consistently identified as a method which is capable of conserving soil moisture, reducing soil erosion, improving water quality, benefiting wildlife, increasing labor use efficiency, limiting machinery investments, sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide, etc." (source)
Tilled field with standing water
after heavy rain.
Photo credit: UW-Discovery Farms
One of the reasons that traditional farm operations will till their land is to, ostensibly, reduce soil compaction. When soil is compacted, it is difficult for crops' roots to punch through the soil and take up the nutrients they need. However, tilling land is time-consuming and expensive, given the machinery and fuel needed to cover acre after acre. Conservation farmers and scientists have found that no-till fields, especially when paired with cover crops, resist compaction.

This article in No-Till Farmer lists some tips for managing soil compaction. Among them are keeping living roots (cover crops) in the soil year round, not driving on fields (or using low-psi flotation tires) and keeping cattle out of fields.

No-tilled fields perform admirably when paired with other conservation farming methods, like cover crops. For example, as noted in Farm Progress"No-till builds up soil phosphorus levels in the top couple inches of soil. In a run-off event, soluble P losses can be substantial. That's why the practice still needs to be matched with other conservation practices such as buffer zones and cover crops."

Hoosier farmers are lucky to have a unique resource available: the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative (CCSI). In conjunction with SWCDs, CCSI "promotes a systematic approach to production agriculture focusing on:
  1. Continuous no-till/strip-till
  2. Cover crops
  3. Precision farming
  4. Nutrient and pest management
CCSI works with private producers as well. If you're interested in learning more about how no-tilling your fields can improve your operation, contact your local SWCD today. You can also visit a cover crop field day. Use CCSI's calendar to search for an event in your area.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Rain Gardens - the Natural Way to Manage Runoff

It's fairly common knowledge that surface runoff in urban areas can overload sewage and drainage systems; contribute to erosion; contribute to pollution of local water sources; and, of course flooding. Urban areas have lots of impervious surfaces (that don't soak up rainwater) like parking lots and roads, and the natural areas that would normally help manage excess water are diminished.

IU students going to class during the floods of 2008.
Photo credit: IU News Service
When I was living in Bloomington, IN and wading through swamped streets after periods of heavy rain on my way to class and work, I learned first-hand what kinds of problems poor drainage systems can cause! Although it was fun to canoe around Dunn Meadow and kayak down the rapids of the Jordan "River" for a couple days during the floods of 2008, many adjacent communities were declared federal emergency areas and are still dealing with the aftermath. The city was generally bogged down for periods of time after other heavy rains, which leads one to wonder how it could better manage its rain overflow problem.

Urban rain garden.
Photo credit: U. of Rhode Island
One solution can be rain gardens. Rain gardens have been a hot topic in the conservation world for the past few years. The EPA cites rain gardens as a successful way to manage runoff on their stormwater case studies. Essentially, they are a special sort of garden that is designed specifically to absorb water runoff - naturally. The water is stored in the soil. They're also more aesthetically pleasing than a drain, or a flooded sewer!

Rain gardens were first developed in residential areas in 1990 in Maryland. After a few years of studying their effectiveness, they proved to be "highly cost effective."
"Instead of a system of curbs, sidewalks, and gutters, which would have cost nearly $400,000, the planted drainage swales cost $100,000 to install. This was also much more cost effective than building BMP ponds that could handle 2-, 10-, and 100-year storm events.Flow monitoring done in later years showed that the rain gardens have resulted in a 75–80% reduction in stormwater runoff during a regular rainfall event (source)"
If you're interested in learning more about rain gardens, Indiana's Hamilton County SWCD will be hosting a Rain Garden Workshop on Feb. 28. Check out our calendar for details.

Monday, February 13, 2012

EPA Works with Developing Nations to Encourage Smart Water Use

In her book Water Wars (2002), the renowned physicist, activist, visionary and writer Vandana Shiva stresses:
"Water is limited and exhaustible if used nonsustainably. Nonsustainable use includes extracting more water from ecosystems than nature can recharge (ecological nonsustainability) and consuming more than one's legitimate share, given the rights of others to a fair share (social nonsustainability)."
Developing nations often struggle with using sustainable means of production, agriculture, development, etc. Developing an economy with finite resources is immensely difficult. Just think: if currently developed nations had worried about the health of the environment and people during the Industrial Revolution, we might not have developed so fast and so far. We might not also have the resulting ecological problems rising from the reliance on fossil fuels during the I.R., polluting of waterways, etc.

Evo Morales, Presidente de Bolivia 
Although wise in the long run, sustainable practices can be slower and more costly than rapid-development practices; the promise of "fast money" and rapid development in lieu of resource conservation is a strong incentive. Poor countries will drill their minerals and fossil fuels, will fell their great forests, and will clear-cut delicate ecosystems to make room for plantations. It makes sense: a country can sell these resources for a couple generations and in return can experience what is perceived to be a higher standard of living.

However, we now know that wise use of resources now will be beneficial in the long run. Convincing developing nations of this idea has proved to be difficult, although some, such as Bolivia, have taken a wonderfully progressive view of resource conservation. This year, Bolivia passed the Ley de Derechos de la Madre Tierra, or the Law of Rights of Mother Earth, which grants nature equal rights to humans. Read more here. It is interesting to note that Presidente Morales comes from an indigenous background, as do the majority of Bolivians; moreover, about two-thirds of its people are subsistence farmers (source).

High-quality soybeans growing in the residue of a wheat crop.
Photo credit to the Rodale Institute
In the interest of sustainability and development, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working with China to "help [the country] develop a long-term plan to maximize the country’s water resources in the face of a growing population and the potential impacts of climate change." Included in the delegation were representatives from 20 U.S. companies looking to do business with China. The delegates "consulted with Chinese government officials on a host of issues like water and energy efficiency, wastewater treatment and water reuse technologies. The impressive turnout by these companies shows a genuine interest in the growing Chinese marketplace. ...The Chinese government, which has set aside about $5.5 billion over the next eight years to develop a series of ground water-related strategies, has shown [a] strong interest in a growing sector of the U.S. economy." Read more about the delegation at the EPA blog Greenversations.

Financial investment is a strong, sustainable, and responsible means of encouraging the responsible use of water and other resources for nations that desire to grow their economies. Closer to home, Soil and Water Conservation Districts work to encourage producers such as farmers, foresters, and ranchers to manage their production systems in an environmentally conservative way (such as no-till farming) that improves their soil and their profits. Watch a short video about some of the great conservation projects here in Indiana below!


Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Goose Pond's Annual Marsh Madness

Goose Pond is a young, celebrity Wildlife Area in Greene County, IN. I referenced it in my post Wetlands Are Awesome as one of the most successful resource conservation projects in recent history here in Indiana. It's an invaluable resource for wildlife, hunters, birdwatchers, educators, scientists, and area landowners.

The Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD) was excited to feature a presentation about Goose Pond at our 2012 Annual Conference. IASWCD is part of the unique Indiana Conservation Partnership which aligns the interests of a variety of federal and state agencies, including the 92 Indiana Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Members of the Partnership, especially NRCS and the DNR, worked together over a number of years to make the Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area a reality. Goose Pond is an invaluable resource for Hoosiers! Read my post about wetlands to learn more.

Those interested in celebrating and learning more about Goose Pond are invited to its annual Marsh Madness bird festival, March 2-4. The celebration takes place at multiple locations around Greene County and takes place at during the height of the annual Sandhill Crane and waterfowl migration through the area.


Sanhill crane adult and chick
The Friday kickoff event takes place from 6:30 - 10pm on March 2. Support the Visitor Center while enjoying a wine tasting from Oliver Winery at the Linton Elks Lodge. Also look for the silent auction! Tickets are $30/person.

Saturday's events run from 7am - 7pm. There is truly something for everyone! Families are welcome and there will be children's activities. Self-guided tours allow participants to witness the annual bird migration; guided tours by bus will be running hourly. Visitors can view live birds of prey, listen to speakers, attend workshops, and shop for arts and crafts. Tickets are only $5/person.

A fair featuring crafts and vendors as well as children's activities will take place on March 4 from noon to 5pm. It is free to attend.

For more information, and to buy tickets, visit marshmadness.info or call (812) 659-9901.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Improving the Mississippi Basin Through Improving Indiana's Soil Health


watershed, or drainage basin, is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point...where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean. The drainage basin includes both the streams and rivers that convey the water as well as the land surfaces from which water drains into those channels.

The world is connected by water like our bodies are by blood. If our bodies were a watershed, our flesh would be the drainage basin; our veins would be tributaries; and our hearts would be the final body of water.

We all live in a watershed. In Indiana, there are six different watersheds that drain into five different large bodies of water.

There is a lot of agriculture in Indiana. This is great growing land! However, food production can put quite a strain on our water system. For example, poorly-managed manure can drain into streams; chemical and nutrient run-off added to croplands can as well. Eventually, our water systems drain into the Mississippi River Basin, which drains into the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mississippi River Basin. Map courtesy of NPS.
The Gulf of Mexico is a rich and delicate body of water that is currently recognized as a "hypoxic dead zone." (It's actually the most notorious dead zone in the world.) This means that due to contamination, not enough oxygen is available for life to exist. Dead zones can be caused and exasperated by nitrogen and phosphorus, which are two chemicals commonly, even extensively, used in agriculture.

Agriculture in Indiana can thus contribute to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

NRCS Chief Dave White stated, “The Mississippi River Basin provides drinking water and recreation for millions of people and hosts a globally significant migratory flyway. The basin also houses some of our nation’s most productive agricultural land." The health of the Basin affects our health. The Mississippi River Basin Initiative (MRBI) "works with farmers using a conservation systems approach to manage and optimize nitrogen and phosphorus within fields to minimize runoff and reduce downstream nutrient loading" in order to improve the health of the land and of the Gulf.

Fact: Dead zones are reversible. In fact, the Black Sea, a dead zone when it was under Soviet Union management, has been revived. After the Soviet collapse, fertilizers became too expensive and thus fewer nutrients made it into the Sea. Fishing has once again become a major economic activity in the region.

Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Indiana encourage landowners to optimize the use of phosphorus and nitrogen on their lands to reduce runoff. If you work in agriculture, learn more about MRBI to see how you can improve your land's health and the health of the Gulf.

If you fertilize your lawn, go to the Clear Choices, Clean Water Campaign's Facebook page to learn more about how you can help reverse hypoxia in the Gulf.