Farmers are an Important Part of Solving the Climate Crisis

Jan 11, 2021

By Pam Knox

Rising temperatures from increased greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane are affecting many aspects of life, including sea level rise, rising costs of utilities, and production management for agriculture. Agriculture is often blamed for the increase in greenhouse gases, although in reality there are other factors that contribute just as much. But agriculture has not been provided with as many tools to help curb the production of greenhouse gases as other industries like power production, leaving them to be attacked for their practices.

In reality, farmers have a lot to contribute to the conversation about how to reduce greenhouse gases and slow the rise in temperatures, and they will be an essential part of the process to solve the climate crisis. This blog post from my colleague Dr. Jonathan Foley from 2019 describes a number of ways that farmers can help sequester carbon in the soil and trees as well as reduce emissions from livestock.

Source : uga.edu

Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.