Last Updated on January 8, 2024 by Brian Beck
Carbon has gotten a bad rap over the past few years. Because it is a waste product of industrialization we often forget that it is also a vital nutrient for plant life and it is a critical building block of every form of life on earth.
Carbon in the context in plant life is currency to the process known as photosynthesis. The carbon dioxide that exists in the atmosphere is breathed in through transpiration of the plant during photosynthesis and through a marvelous chemical transaction combined with sunlight we get oxygen and carbohydrates, stored food for the plant and microbiology. The carbon also contributes to the soil’s ability to hold water as it increases water carrying capacity. As the biology develops in the soil and structure is created the added voids in the soil create space for the potential of stored water. Some of this carbon is put into the soil which can be seen in real time if you ever pull a plant out of the ground and swirl it around in a vat of water you will see a white foamy substance form in the water. This is liquid carbon and is critical to the soil’s ecology. This carbon not only attracts nutrients in the soil but also serves as an energy source for the microbes. When the microbes and just this carbon close to the root zone they share the digested matter with the plant which completes the cycles such as the nitrogen cycle in the carbon cycle. The more carbon we have in the soil the higher the potential for life in the soil.
With the advent of synthetic fertilizers the potential for this buildup of carbon is diminished as synthetic nitrogen releases carbon from the soil in the form of gas that escapes back into the atmosphere. The compaction that we often find in our soil from the lack of structure due to the lack of biology caused by the inorganic salts that kill off the microbes prevent the ability for the soil to hold water and impart nutrients efficiently from the soil into the plant.
In the absence of carbon in soil hydration the process of carbon drawdown into the soil from the atmosphere is halted. The holy Trinity of any healthy soil will require the presence of carbon, water and microbiology. This is the essence of soil and what you must do to recharge it.
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