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The Nexus of Soil, Water and Waste

The Nexus of Soil, Water and Waste. Rattan Lal Carbon Management and Sequestration Center The Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43210 USA. T he E arth.

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The Nexus of Soil, Water and Waste

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  1. The Nexus of Soil, Waterand Waste Rattan Lal Carbon Management and Sequestration Center The Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43210 USA

  2. The Earth Look again at that blue pearl in the space. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it is everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregates of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant. Every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every aspiring politician, every “super leader”, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there- on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. ~Carl Sagan

  3. Earth’s Historic Temperature andThe Evolution of Agriculture (Fagan, 2004) 1750 Anthropocene Warm & Wet THE LONG SUMMER -34 -36 δ18 (0%) -38 -40 Cold & Dry -42 8,000 BC Beginning of Agriculture 18,000 BC AD 2,000 2,000 BC 6,000 BC 14,000 BC 10,000 BC Time

  4. Neolithic Revolution: Centers of Origin of Agriculture Region 1000 Yr BP Crops Domesticated Near East/Fertile Crescent 9-14 Eincorn, Emmer, Barley, Pea, Vetch, Lentil Northern China 9 Rice Papua New Guinea 6-9 Sugarcane, root crops Central Mexico 7-8 Maize, squash, gourds, beans, (Aztecs, Mayans) cocoa Indus Valley 7.5-11 Wheat, Barely, Jujuba West Africa 4.5 Yam, Cassava Horn of Africa 5-7 Teff, Coffee, Cucumber tree, Yeheb nut Eastern North America 4-5 Cranberries, Chenopod, Marsh (Cherokees) Elder, Maple Sugar, Tobacco, Squash, Sunflower, Knotweed, Little barely, Maygrass Western North America 6 Amaranth, Pine Nuts(Pueblo Dwellers) South America (Incas) 7 Potato, Beans, Coca

  5. LAST ICE AGE AND ORIGIN OF AGRICULTURE Settled or the intentional agriculture 10-12 millenia ago • was the defining moment in human history Two factors responsible for origin of agriculture were: • Increase in global temperature, and • Increase in atmospheric concentration of CO2 from ~180 ppm to 280 ppm. • Increase in CO2 concentration then enhanced: • Biomass production of C-3 plants (wheat, barley, potato, sugarbeet) drastically and that of C-4 plants (corn) moderately. • BNF by legumes

  6. The Anthropogenic Driver I = P x A x T P = Population A = Affluence T = Technology 10 2100 9.2 2050 8.6 2040 1.7 1900 1.8 1910 1.3 1850 1.9 1920 1.0 1800 8.1 2030 2.1 1930 2.3 1940 7.5 2020 2.5 1950 3.0 1960 7.0 2011 3.7 1970 6.1 2000 4.4 1980 5.3 1990

  7. Soil, Water, Waste Nexus Runoff Percolation Crop/Animal/Tree Residues Soil Soil Water Storage Compost Sludge Natural Resources Green Water Waste Water Grey Water Waste Water Use Black Water

  8. The Century Drought of 2012 Drought decreased production in 2012 by 30-60% in the U.S. • + 1°C = 10-17% decline in grain yields in the world Reduction in crop yield in SSA by 8-22% nj.com

  9. Types of Drought Meteorological: Long-term deficiency of precipitation Hydrological: Decline of water in rivers, reservoirs, aquifers, etc. Pedological: Reduction in soil water storage Agronomic: Low availability at critical stages of crop growth Ecological: Low water availability because of land use conversion Sociological: Demand of a community exceeding supply due to water deficit

  10. On-set of Anthropogenic Emissions(Ruddiman, 2005) A trend of increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration began 8000 years ago, and that in CH4 5000 years ago, corresponding with the dawn of settled agriculture with attendant deforestation, soil cultivation, spread of rice paddies and raising cattle.

  11. Anthropogenic Emissions (Pg) by Carbon Civilization • Land use • Prehistoric :320 • 1750-2010 :136 • 2010-2030 :30 • II. Fossil Fuel combustion • (i) 1750-2010 :200 • (ii) 2010-2030 :190 These emissions have and will affect the ecosystems from which we derive food, feed, fiber, fuel and shelter.

  12. The Carbon Civilization • I. Coal Production (Mt/yr) • 1860: 132 Mt/yr • 2010: 3731 Mt/yr Drinking water need = 0.6 gallon/day • II. Oil Consumption • 87.4 m bbl/day • 0.6 gallons/day • (3 gallon/day USA) Beer consumption in Ohio: 0.1 gallon/day • III. Gas Use • 8.1 b m3/day

  13. Degraded Land (Bai et al., 2008) GLOBAL SOIL DEGRADATION (109ha) • Water Erosion : 1.09 (Oldeman, 1994) • Wind Erosion : 0.55 (Oldeman, 1994) • Salinization : 0.85 (FAO, 2005)

  14. Causes of Soil Degradation • Survival and desperation. • Purposely overuse of resources (subsidies). • Human greed and corruption, desire to produce and • consume in a “world without limit” and expectations: • competition, territory and power. • Ignorance and misunderstanding about functioning of • soil ecosystems: unsustainable soil use and • management based on lack of knowledge • (The Groundnut Scheme of Tanganyka in the 1950s)

  15. Global Soil Erosion & Dynamics of Soil Organic Carbon 15 1.1 x 10 g/ y r decomposition and emission to the atmosphere 15 1500 x 1 0 C 15 In world soil 3.99 x 10 g/ y r Stored within the terrestrial ecosystem 15 5.7 x 10 g/ y r C Displaced due to erosion 15 0.57 x 10 g/ y r Transported to the ocean

  16. The Gullied Land in West Africa Desperateness Increase in erosion risks between 1980s and 2090: Africa….+36% World....+14%

  17. Using Top Soil for Brick Making in Asia to Accommodate Rapid Urbanization Urbanization and Land • It takes 40,000 ha to provide accommodation and infrastructure to 1 million people • Annual increase of 75 million people, takes ~3 Mha of prime land out of production • By 2015, 236 cities in the world will be ≥ 10 million people • A city of 10 million requires 6000 tones of food/day

  18. Future Food Demand • Feeding 7 billion in 2010 takes cropland area size of South America • Feeding 9.2 billion in 2050 would take the land area of South America & Brazil + • Land grabs in 2011 mostly in Africa: 57 Mha • (140 million acres)

  19. Required Cereal Yields and Production to Meet Future Demands(WILD, 2003) (3629) • (4.40) • (4553) (6.00) • (with change to animal-based diet)

  20. Distribution of Global Water (redrawn from Shiklomanov, 1993) Distribution of Global Fresh Water Only (2.5% Global Water) Distribution of Global Fresh & Salt Water 0.3% Fresh lakes and river flows (93,000 km3) 0.9% Other: soil moisture, ground ice/permafrost and swamp water (342,000 km3) Fresh Water 2.5% 29.9% Fresh ground water (10,530,000 km3) Total Water Salt Water 97.5% 68.9% Glaciers and permanent snow cover (24,060,000 km3)

  21. Types of Water Virtual Blue Grey/ Black Green Water Resources

  22. Global Water Use(Kondratyev et al., 2003)

  23. Top Ten Net Virtual WaterExporters and Importers (Km3/yr) Exporters Importers • Japan 92 • Australia 64 • Italy 51 • Canada 60 • U.K. • 47 • USA 53 • Germany 35 • Argentina 45 • South Korea 32 • Brazil 45 • Mexico 29 • Ivory Coast 33 • Hong Kong 27 • Thailand 28 • Iran 15 • India 25 • Spain 14 • Ghana 18 • Saudi Arabia 13 • Ukraine 17 ….. Thenkabail et al. (2010)

  24. Waste Water Generatedby Some Water Deficit Countries Algeria 600 Egypt 10012 Iran 3075 Libya 546 Morocco 650 Saudi Arabia 730 Syria 825 Turkey 2400 UAE 881 ….. Qadin et al. (2007)

  25. Tubewell Irrigation in Punjab, India No one protects or safeguards an undervalued resource. Rapid depletion of the ground water in the Indo-Gangetic Plains is partly attributed to subsidies and free electricity.

  26. Global Fertilizer Use(IFDC, 2004)

  27. Hubert Curve Is there a peak soil? Are there endangered soils? • Five countries (Morocco, China, SA, USA and Jordan) • control 90% of the P reserves • High P causes anoxia in coastal ecosystems

  28. Strategies of Feeding 10 Billion Diet

  29. Wasted Resources • Promote an efficient use of food produced: • Adopt climate-resilient sustainable intensification of agriculture More than one-fourth of all the water we use worldwide is taken to grow over one billion tons of food that no one eats(Global Water Week, 2012)

  30. Wasted Food Grains Due to Lack of Storage Facilities Wasted Morsels

  31. Sustainable Soil Management • Replace what is removed, • Respond wisely to what is changed, and • Predict what will happen from anthropogenic • and natural perturbations

  32. Yield Gap of Major Crops Lobell et al. (2009)

  33. RESIDUE Removal FOR COMPETING USES

  34. Nutrients Removed per Mgof Corn Grains and Stover (kg/ha) TOTAL Stover Grains Nutrient 51 36 15 N 10 8 2 P 46 9 37 K TOTAL 130.2 71.8 58.4 ….. Calculated from Bundy ( 2012 )

  35. Economics of Residue Removal for Biofuel “Soil biota is the bioengine of the Earth” There is no such thing as a free biofuel from crop residues.

  36. Alcohol or Humus “I am arguing against indiscriminant conversion of biomass and organic wastes to fuels. The humus capital, which is substantial, deserves being maintained because good soils are a national asset”. ……Hans Jenny (1980)

  37. ATMOSPHERIC BROWN CLOUD CAUSED BY TRADITIONAL BIOFUELS (NYT 4-16-09)

  38. Traditional Biofuel from Animal Manure More plant nutrients are burnt in dung as household fuel than chemical fertilizers used/yr in India.

  39. Crop Yield Increase with Increase in SOCby 1 Mg C/Ha(LAL, 2005) 30-50 million tons/yr in developing countries

  40. Adaptation To Climate Change It involves any activity that reduces the negative impacts of climate change through anticipatory or reactive strategies and/or take advantage of new and beneficial opportunities that may be presented.

  41. Towards C-Neutral Agriculture BT BT BT Nano-enhanced Materials Plants which emit molecular-based signals No-till Farming N, P, K, Zn, H2O Delivering nutrients of improved and water directly to roots plants

  42. The NPP of a Corn Field is 400 Times the Annual Increase in Atmospheric C Pool v NPP NPP 12.5 x 10-12 Pg C/ha/y NBP≅3PgC/yr + 2 ppm CO2/y 5 x 10-9 Pg C/ha/y 5 x 10-9 Pg C/ha

  43. Soil and Climate Change Mitigation Most cost effective option

  44. 1. Causes of Soil Degradation Sustainable Soil Management • The biophysical process of soil degradation is driven by economic, social • and political forces. • Vulnerability to degradation depends on “how” rather than “what” is grown.

  45. 1. Causes of Soil Degradation 2. Soil Stewardship & Human Suffering • When people are poverty stricken, desperate and starving, they • pass on their sufferings to the land.

  46. 1. Causes of Soil Degradation 2. Soil Stewardship & Human Suffering 10. Traditional Knowledge & Modern Innovations 3. Nutrient, Carbon, & Water Bank 9. Engine of Economic Development Sustainable Soil Management 4. Marginality Principle 8. Soil as Sink for Atmospheric CO2 5. Organic vs. Inorganic Nutrients 7. Soil vs. Germplasm 6. Soil Carbon & GHG Effect • It is not possible to take more out of a soil than what is put in it • without degrading its quality. • Only by replacing what is taken can a soil be kept fertile, • productive, and responsive to inputs.

  47. 1. Causes of Soil Degradation 2. Soil Stewardship & Human Suffering 10. Traditional Knowledge & Modern Innovations 3. Nutrient, Carbon, & Water Bank 9. Engine of Economic Development Sustainable Soil Management 4. Marginality Principle 8. Soil as Sink for Atmospheric CO2 5. Organic vs. Inorganic Nutrients 7. Soil vs. Germplasm 6. Soil Carbon & GHG Effect • Marginal soils cultivated with marginal inputs produce • marginal yields and support marginal living. • Recycling is a good strategy especially when there is something to recycle.

  48. Ex nihilo nihil fit (Nothing Comes From Nothing) Law or Concept Implications 1. Nothing is appropriated: There are always trade offs (give and take). 2.Nothing is permanent: Everything is in a dynamic equilibrium and a transient state. 3.Nothing is absolute: All processes, properties and values are relative to a baseline. 4.Nothing is a panacea: There is no silver bullet, there is a multitude/ menu of options. 5.Nothing is universal: Soil/site/region specificity is an important consideration which cannot be overlooked. 6.Nothing tangible is free: Under valuing a commodity leads to “Tragedy of the Commons”. 7.Nothing is empty (vacuum) in nature: All space is occupied, pores in solid rock contain water or air and injecting something (liquid CO2), fracking solutions can create shock waves. 8.Nothing is given or for granted: It is the judicious use and management which produce goods and services. 9.Nothing is a waste: Everything in nature has a use. 10.Nothing is nothing: There is no such thing as nothing.

  49. Integrating Science, Practices and Policy for Sustainable Soil Management and Restoration Science Policy Restore, Improve, Sustain, and Enhance Natural Resources R. I. S. E. Religion and Culture Practices

  50. Religious Beliefs in Agriculture and Environment • Judaism : The word “homo” (man) is derived from the Latin word “humus” orthe decomposed organic matter in soil, which isthe essence of allterrestrial life. The Hebrew phrase “TikkunOlam” means “repairingrestoring the world”. • Hinduism : Human body is made of “Kshiti (soil), Jal (water), Pawak (energy), Gagan (sky/space), Sameere (air)” (Prasna Upanishad) • Sikhism : Air is the Guru, water is the Father, and soil is the Great Mother of all. (Gurbani) • Buddhism : “One should not break even the branch of a tree that hasgiven one shelter” (Petavatthu II, 9, 3) • Christianity: The word “Adam” (man) is derived from the Hebrew word“adama” meaning “earth” or “soil” • Greek : The daughter of Earth goddess “Gaea” named Themis(goddess of Law), and her descendent Demeter was thegoddess of agriculture and fertility • Romans : The Earth goddess (Tellus) was related to the goddess of fertility and harve (Ceres) • Islam : “He created the man of clay like the potters” (Suhrah Al-Rhman, verse 14) • “We made from water every living thing” (Quŕan 25:54) • “Do not overuse water even if you are on a running river” (Prophet Mohammad) • Khalil : Trees are poems (rubbiat) that earth writes upon the sky.We fell them down • Gibran and then turned them into paper, so that we may record our emptiness.

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