Bill Kerr says that increasing the organic and microbe content of your soil is the first step to ensuring healthier crops and ...

The ideal soil for most plants is loam, which has a balance of sand, silt, and clay. Loam is also rich in an organic matter called humus. Dark and loose but not too loose, humus is composed of ...

Humus is highly recalcitrant, and this resistance to decomposition leads to a long residence time in soil. Plant debris is less recalcitrant, resulting in a much shorter residence time in soil.

For clay, it can be a game-changer. Organic matter is basically anything that decomposes and adds humus to your soil. Compost, animal manures, peat, lawn clippings, straw, wood chips, cardboard, leaf ...

The respirometer vessel is an 8-oz. sample bottle in which the soil (usually 50 gm.) is placed. A small container with about 10 ml. of 2 M sodium hydroxide absorbs the evolved carbon dioxide.

Bacteria that live in soil and help roots fix nitrogen can boost certain plants' capacity to reproduce, according to an ...

It is estimated that 30% of the world's terrestrial carbon stocks are found in the boreal forest, 60% of which is below ground. Organic soil horizons contain about one-third of the soil carbon.

Thomas Gumbricht with Sonia Meller from Digit Soil, discuss what we need to know about understanding the dynamics of soil ...

Soil with not much compost or humus in it will blow away in the wind very easily. Putting compost in your soil feeds the soil and makes it strong and healthy.

Home vegetable or flower gardeners are often unhappy with their soil quality. They routinely incorporate organic matter in the soil each fall but don't see much change in their soil texture.

The "soil footprint" is emerging as a crucial concept in sustainable farming, measuring the impact of agriculture on soil ...

Maintaining soil health is crucial for sustainable agriculture. Recently, soil volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have emerged ...