Ascension Soil Company - bringing soils to life

New Theory on Soil Remineralization

Remeineralization theory has been based on the nutritional value of the mine rock as a recent of minerals as a source of potassium shows (Manning, 2010).  A recent paper published at the 19^th World Congress of Soil Science (Kleber, 2010) has framed the role of soil minerals in a new light and in a way that I had to begun to think about as a result of my own research.  Kleber’s theory includes the following:

·         Minerals play in the functioning and structure of microbiota and their communities;

·         Long-term protection of organic molecules by sorptive interactions appears to be limited to those organic materials directly bonded to the protecting mineral surface;

·         3D view of soil consisting of a multitude of largely independent microreactors formed around microbial cells, cell colonies and fungal hyphae

·         Mineral particles as components for the construction of small microstructures which are built around microbial cell or cell colonies

·         Microbiota actively interact with mineral surfaces for a number of purposes.

This supports my theory that the role of remineralization is not as much on the direct nutritional value of the minerals, but the role they play in overall soil quality, including the protection of soil carbon and the inherent improvement of soil functioning.

References:

Kleber, M. (2010) Minerals and carbon stabilization: towards a new perspective of mineralorganic

interactions in soils.  19th World Congress of Soil Science, Soil Solutions for a Changing World, 77-79.  http://www.iuss.org/19th%20WCSS/.%5Csymposium/.%5Cpdf/1820.pdf

Manning, D. (2010) Mineral sources of potassium for plant nutrition.  A review.  Agron.  Sustain. Dev. (30), 281-291. http://www.agronomy-journal.org/index.php?option=com_article&access=doi&doi=10.1051/agro/2009023&Itemid=129

Rock Dust Influences Soil Microbiology

Studies at the University of Western Australia examining the addition of silicate mineral powders (mica, basalt, rock phosphate) on microbial communities’ structure in soil found the following:

·         Addition of minerals to pasture soil microcosms resulted in substantial changes in both bacterial and fungal community structure, dependent upon type of mineral applied and the plant species present;

·         The addition of minerals to silica-based soil altered the mineral composition of soil and have caused the shifts in microbial community composition;

·         Mineral addition may have influenced microbial community structure in soil via the release of limiting nutrients into the soil upon dissolution;

·         Distinct microbial responses are elicited when mineral substrates rich in K, Mg, Ca or P are added to nutrient poor soil;

·         In soil, different minerals select bacterial communities with distinct structures in their microhabitats;

·         Adjacent mineral particles in soil of different composition may support different bacterial communities in their microhabitats;

·         The heterogeneous distribution of minerals in soil may influence spatial variation of bacterial communities in soil;

·         The effect of mineral and fraction treatments had a greater influence on the structure of bacterial communities in soil than the effect of plant species

·         The structure if bacterial communities in soil depends on which minerals are in their microhabitats.

References:

Carson, J.; Rooney, D., Gleeson, D and Clipson, N (2007) Altering the mineral composition of soil causes a shift in microbial community structure. FEMS Microbiol Ecol, 61, 414-423.  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2007.00361.x/pdf

Carson, J.k Campbell, L.; Rooney, D.; Clipson, N. and Gleeson, D. (2009) Minerals in soil select distinct bacterial communities in their microhabitats.  FEMS Microbiol Ecol, 67, 381-388. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2008.00645.x/abstract

Welcome to my blog - ASC explained

Ascension Soil Company was borne out my academic and personal research into methods, techniques and philosophies that helped bring life back to infertile and essentially sterile soils.

The journey began on a glorious spring afternoon in southwest Colorado in 1996.  I was taking a sabbatical from environmental consulting to fulfill one of my lifes ambitions of learning to ski (90 ski days in Telluride during a record ski year).  I was waiting for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Guage Railroad (http://www.durangotrain.com/) to pull into Durango.  With an hour to kill, I lazily strolled into a bookstore.  Little did I know that I this act would change the course of my life, for literally jumping off the shelf was Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird’s alternative remedies for restoring soils “Secrets of the Soil”.  With an undergrad in earth sciences, including soils, I was immediately intrigued by one chapter in particular - Chapter 15 Dust for Life - which went to to describe the process of remineralization: adding ground rock to soils to improve soil quality and nutrition (more can be found at www.remineralize.org). 

With a new bride in tow, I ended up studying with the great Bob Gilkes at the Univeristy of Western Australia producing a thesis on The Evaluation and Improvement of Silicate Mineral Fertilisers.  The abstract can be found at www.ascensionsoil.com/research and please email me for a copy (andrewharley@ascensionsoil.com). 

In addition to remineralization, I have studied a diverse area of soil restoration, including:

• Dr Daniel Hillel’s work on soil and water science;
• Dr Rattan Lal’s work on soil carbon, especailly in mine reclamation (https://pro.osu.edu/profiles/lal.1/);
• water management and the work of P.A. Yeomans (Keyline) and Vicktor Schauberger (Natural Water Management);
• organic matter management and the work of Alan Savory (Holistic Resource Management);
• permaculture sytems and the work of Bill Mollison;
• biodynamics and the work of Rudolf Steiner;
• Nutritional minerals and the work of William Albrecht, Andre Voisin and Joel Wallach; and
• biochar and the work of Johannes Lehmann et. al. (http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/index.html)

My current focus is the use of Biochar for the reclamation of drastically disturbed lands, especially in the arid and semi-arid American West.  This will be the focus of most of my blogs as I move forward in this direction.

This blog is intended as a clearing house for a range of resources that I have accumulated over the years.