In the summer of 2014 I began a PhD in soil science and I am
now drawing towards the end of it. As I
think is usual, the first two years of the PhD felt hectic, to say the
least. Now, as I begin my write up, I
have time to reflect on my research and am bring the approach I developed as an
undergraduate to bear on this new context.
And what a context.
Soil has been called “the poor [wo]man’s tropical rainforest” due the mind
boggling diversity and complexity of its microbial, mesofaunal and macrofaunal communities
and it has a complex 3d structure.
Unlike a tropical forest, if you want to investigate the effect of a
disturbance event you don’t need to wait for a hurricane, climb trees and smoke
out species or set up large scale deforestation plots, you can arrange tillage
treatments with a farmer or simply take intact soil, pass it through a sieve
and repack it. If working with soil is
like working with Arabidopsis or mice, it makes experiments in tropical forests
look like working with redwoods or elephants.
So, some thoughts on the valuing our soils and what the
valuing of this vitally important natural resource means for farming will
follow, hopefully you will find them interesting.
