Interesting thread….couple of things:

1. ‘…Glomalin is a glycoprotein produced abundantly on hyphae and spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soil and in roots. As a glycoprotein, glomalin stores carbon in both its protein and carbohydrate (glucose or sugar) subunits. It permeates organic matter, binding it to silt, sand, and clay particles. Not only does glomalin contain 30 to 40 percent carbon, but it also forms clumps of soil granules called aggregates. These add structure to soil, and keep other stored soil carbon from escaping. Glomalin was discovered in 1996 by Sara F. Wright, which she named after the Glomales order of fungi. Glomalin is causing a complete reexamination of what makes up soil organic matter. It is increasingly being included in studies of carbon storage and soil quality….’ (ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomalin)

and more to thank Fungi for!

‘….Sara F. Wright, a soil scientist with the ARS Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, discovered glomalin in 1996 and named the substance after Glomeraceae, the taxonomic order of the symbiotic fungi that produce the sticky protein on the roots of vegetation. Recently, she used a nuclear magnetic resonance imager to show that glomalin is structurally different from any other organic matter component, proving it is a distinct entity.

The fungi live on most plant roots and use the plants’ carbon to produce glomalin. Glomalin is thought to seal and solidify the outside of the fungi’s pipe-like filaments that transport water and nutrients to plants. As the roots grow, glomalin sloughs off into the soil where it acts as super-glue, helping sand, silt and clay particles stick to each other and to the organic matter that brings soil to life. It is glomalin that helps give soil the feel of the glued-together particles and organic matter. The deeper the turf the better it hangs together and can be thrown into the air and caught again. Sand and soil bereft of organic matter and glomalin blow away in a strong wind. The conversion of the Great Plains grasslands of America into dust bowls in some areas demonstrates this.

Glomalin is a component of the more commonly understood humus, the organic matter that is sometimes called black gold. When it first turned up in humus measurements, it was thought to be a contaminant. Glomalin is not just the glue that holds humus to soil particles; it actually does much of what humus has been credited with. Because there is so much more glomalin in the soil than humic acid, an extractable fraction of humus, glomalin stores 27 percent of total soil carbon, compared to humic acid’s eight percent. It also provides nitrogen to soil and gives it the structure needed to hold water and for proper aeration, movement of plant roots and stability to resist erosion….’ (ref. http://www.beefsouthwest.co.uk/Reversing-the-claim-that-grazing-cattle-and-sheep-release-carbon-into-the-atmosphere/Latest-News/)

In my various workshops I ask people why do you think these fungi have evolved to produce glomalin? Pretty clear to me in that they are aerobes and therefore need a soil that is breathing and aerated…obviously cultivation and compaction are the enemy of mycorrhizal fungi and certainly the use of powered cultivators, mould boards, discs etc effectively dissect the hyphae thereby reducing the capacity of these amazing organisms to do their thing!

2. I would consider 3000lbs/acre very low density stocking. My good friends and colleagues’ Abe Collins (VT) and John Wick (CA) along with many other Holistic Managment Planned Grazing practitioners often run closer to 1,000,000 lbs acre of stock density. Mob grazing is different to Planned grazing in that one grazes according to a plan and a set of criteria around managing the sword not just for grazing but also for other ecosystem functions such as surface litter accumulation and accordingly the practice of ‘tall grazing’ occurs where in principle 1/3rd is grazed, 1/3 trampled and 1/3 left increasing cover and reducing recovery time before the next grazing pass can occur. This practice, along with aeration in particular, radically increases the production of these systems including the amount of carbohydrate exudation (glucose) off of root systems. Of course this stands to reason as the more active leaf area and plant density the more glucose production, the more glucose production the more of a feeding frenzy occurs in the soil. Fungi love sugar and plants love soluble minerals so what a party….

Have some new findings on very rapid soil development that I have to put up….watch this space and in the meantime check out some of Abe’s grazing work on: http://www.youtube.com/user/justuscarbonfarmers

Permaculture itself is not a new idea. But it was beaten out of common knowledge base by the artificial fertilizer industry which came to dominance in the previous century.

Cyril G. Hopkins was the Chief Agronomist and eventually Director of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station from 1911 to 1919. Hopkins had his own “feed the soil” philosophy which he called “The Illinois System of Permanent Agriculture.” He advanced his ideas that there are only three constituents that must be supplied to soils, limestone, phosphorous, and organic matter that will increase, or at minimum permanently maintain the productive power of the soil.

He wrote of green manures and how buying factory made fertilizers was a trap both from an economic and productivity basis.

The end of half a century of advertising blitz and fertilizer salesmanship has resulted in no one remembering Cyril Hopkins anymore.

Hopkins was well aware of that possibility. He wrote numerous experiment station bulletins encouraging farmers to realize that no salesman was going to tell them about his ideas because there was so little to sell. He warned them that the large fertilizer manufacturers were concerned first and foremost with selling and only secondarily with farming. He predicted that the manufacturers would push their products endlessly, until farmers forgot how well agriculture could work with a bare minimum of purchased materials.

Cyril Hopkins may have lost that struggle and been momentarily forgotten, but the truth of “permanent soil fertility” is still right there in the earth for those of use who care to look.

This is of course nothing new to many of us….for a long time now I have been working to convince farmers that 2% Organic Carbon in a functional soil is not ‘robbing the crop N’ and that its about 6-10% less than they need in their soils….Conventional agronomists have long held the view (its on every soil test I’ve ever seen from these guys – have a look here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pmU1o3dCNefYIKmlD8JllA?feat=directlink) that 2% OC is high and that you need to reduce this down otherwise your crops will starve! How do you achieve this target? Use a combo of nitrogenous fertilisers, tillage (oxidisation) and negate biotic functions both in and on the soil. Any wonder agricultural lands the world over are in such a crisis when this moronic paradigm prevails! Another reason why we are moving ahead with RegenAG, as are PRI, Trust Nature, RCS, Holistic Management International and many many others….

All the best and thanks Craig for keeping the news real.

Darren

Is the nitrogen fixed by leguminous plants water soluble?

I’ve begun to worry that I’m growing too many wattles and pigeon peas plants.

rhamis

See: http://eartheasy.com/blog/2010/07/6-ways-mushrooms-can-save-the-world/