Compost, crop variety, and less tilling boost living carbon in farm soil
Mhiret DA, Tsunekawa A, Haregeweyn N, Fenta AA, Sultan D
Soil Health
The compost you fold into your beds and the mix of crops you rotate through them feed the microbes that hold your soil's fertility, and this review shows those habits pay off almost everywhere, with the biggest gains in dry climates and sandy or clay-heavy ground varying by site.
Researchers pooled results from 221 studies and found that adding organic matter, mixing up crops, leaving crop residue, and disturbing the soil less all boost the tiny living organisms that make soil fertile. Plain chemical fertilizer alone slightly lowered them. How much the soil improved depended on how dry the climate was and what the soil was made of.
Key Findings
Treatment plots averaged 23.5% higher soil microbial biomass carbon than control plots across 221 studies published 1988-2024.
All five practices except inorganic fertilization raised microbial carbon; inorganic fertilization alone had a slight negative effect, while integrated fertilization and crop diversification worked well across all aridity classes.
Extrapolated globally, sustainable practices were associated with a roughly 27% increase in cropland microbial carbon stocks (about 322 million tonnes), a figure with caveats about data coverage and depth and density assumptions.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A review of 221 studies found that farming practices like compost, cover diversity, and reduced tillage raise the living microbial carbon in soil by about 23.5% on average. Healthier soil microbes mean more resilient, productive soil, though results depend on climate and soil type.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Sustainable Land Management Practices Enhance Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon in Global Croplands.
Soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) is an essential indicator of microbial activity and soil health, reflecting ecosystem functioning and sustainability. We synthesized data from 221 peer-reviewed...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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