Soil, Climate and Policy.

The strength of the connection between knowledge of the soil and public policy has waxed and waned as the perception of either threat or opportunity impacts general consciousness.  Arguably, this perception inadequately reflects the importance of the role of soil; partly because the impact is often slow moving (in policy timeframes) and action and policy responses can be postponed.  There are of course exceptions and in these cases policy has needed to move quickly – for example, the development of clear guidelines for managing acid sulfate soils in many countries.

As it has many things, the advent of climate change has altered policy perceptions.  The soil is integrated in the climate system and a key part of climate change.  The soil stores more carbon than is held in vegetation and the atmosphere combined and exchanges about 10% with the atmosphere each year.  Relatively small changes in net soil carbon storage would be significant relative to other emissions.  In addition, the soil can emit significant quantities of other greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide.  So, soil dynamics driven by environmental settings and the management we impose on it, now need to be part of the policy debate.  The soil interacts in numerous but less direct ways with climate that are relevant to policy.  These include changes in the rate and intensity of soil erosion and soil leaching events, the productivity of food production systems and potential shifts in land suitability.

So, a new impetus in policy affecting the soil and its use has emerged as part of the climate policy response. Globally, we have seen the incorporation of net soil greenhouse gas emissions in the protocols for carbon accounts and an increasing level of sophistication in national carbon accounting systems.  Soil carbon markets have been pursued in many countries and by some pan-national institutions – with variable success and impact.  Mitigation strategies have been developed and evaluated for fitness as official management protocols.

The nature of the soil and its multifaceted importance for a range of ecosystems services presents specific challenges to the development of effective policy instruments.  Concerns around permanence, additionality and leakage are well documented in most carbon mitigation schemes; they are arguably more complex for soil management.   In addition, the soil is rarely available for carbon management alone.  In most cases, there is a continuing need to manage soil for food and fibre production.  Thus farmers and farming communities are often divided on the costs and benefits of soil policies aimed at climate management; a divide both within countries and between the developed north and the developing south.

 The presentation will choose some case studies to explore these challenges and the role of innovative soil science in their solution.