The Biospheres, working through the CDA*, accompanies and trains farmers/agricultural companies in the agroecological transition based on a soil conservation approach. The group is also working on applied research projects and therefore on trials under real farming conditions in which they evaluate the impact of certain changes in practices on different indicators (biological, chemical, physical, economic).
Joshua Mikesell utilized microBIOMETER® in a University of Michigan Intern Student Program last fall for his 501(c)3 compost business Happy Coast. The goal of his compost business is to seek out organic waste products and develop ways to reduce and recycle these materials. In preparation for the study, Joshua created multiple controlled scenarios to test biomass in certain situations and in several types of compost.
Ariel White, a ninth grader at Pretty River Academy in Ontario, Canada, utilized microBIOMETER® in their science fair project titled Post Wildfire Forest Reboot Kit.
The project was awarded first place at their high school and chosen to compete at the Simcoe County Regional Science Fair.
Modern agriculture practices have led to the systematic degradation of the world’s soil and release of carbon into the environment. The effects are increased need for expensive and environmentally dangerous inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides), the loss of fertile top soil, decrease in water holding capacity of soil and dangerously high levels of atmospheric carbon.
Ralph Lett, head of product development at Acterra , was kind enough to share his microBIOMETER® experience with us. We love hearing the different ways our customers are using our soil test! Please contact us if you would like to be featured in our newsletter.
Graham Mackie, Golf Course Manager at Edzell Golf Course in the U.K., has been using microBIOMETER® to monitor the health of the soil on the greens. Here is what he had to say about our soil test.
“I really like microBIOMETER®. It is simple to use and for the first time I can get baseline readings to see what is effective and what is not in influencing soil biology.
The microbial population or microbial biomass (MB) reflects soil fertility. For over 2 million years, plants and soil microbes have worked together to create what we call fertile “soil”.
How do they work together? The plant supplies the microbes with carbon rich food.
Dr. Jassem Bastaki of Sustainable Organic Q8, a microBIOMETER® distributor, is passionate about educating farmers on the importance of the life in the soil. His company has helped bring diversity above grounds back to the region in the past couple years. However, many people are still very new to the life underground and living soil.
Soil microbial activities in Lafayette, LA
Last semester Soil Science and Environmental Pedology students under a supervision of Dr. Anna Paltseva [annapaltseva.com] conducted a soil microbial experiment on campus of University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Each of the group of students collected different samples from lawn, vegetable containers, around tree pits, and a native plants garden.
What is the difference between microbial biomass (MB) and microbial respiration rate (RR) ?
Both parameters are used to assess soil microbial health. The respiration assay measures the amount of carbon dioxide produced by the microbes in a given weight of soil. The soil is dried and then rewetted and put in an airtight jar that allows measurement of the amount of CO2 produced over 24 hours.
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