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The Truth about Ecological Revitalization - Case Studies and Tools to Improve your Cleanups Sally Brown, University of Washington Soil Health Slide 2 1 Insert bullets A Guide to Soil Health (Value of soil ecosystem services) Sally Brown University of Washington Based on Costanza et al, 1997 Slide 3 2 Soil - The living skin of the earth Soil - The living skin of the earth http://geosci.uchicago.edu/solids/images/earth_interior.jpg Slide 4 3 The earth is 71% water (361 million km 2 ) Water in the World Slide 5 4 Soil - arable land 41.4 million km 2 Slide 6 5 Soils are the foundation of ecosystem services Net worth of these services set at $33 trillion 83% > than the gross world product (Costanza et al., 1997) Slide 7 6 1.Gas regulation Regulation of atmospheric chemical composition including CO 2 /O 2 balance What are these services? 6 CO 2 + 12 H 2 O C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6 O 2 + 6 H 2 O Slide 8 7 What plants need Physical support Air Water Nutrients: C. B. HOPKiNS CaFe, Co Closed Monday Morning and Night See You (Cu) Zoon (Zn), the Mg Slide 9 8 2. Climate regulation including GHG regulation 38,000x10 6 Mg 760x10 6 Mg 560x10 6 Mg 2,500x10 6 Mg A mean residence time for carbon in soils is 22-32 years Slide 10 9 Global carbon cycles/pools 760x10 6 Mg 266x10 6 Mg > pre industrial 560x10 6 Mg 2,500x10 6 Mg 76x10 6 Mg every year 158x10 6 Mg released from 1850 - 1998 Slide 11 10 3. Disturbance regulation Storm protection, flood control, drought recoverymainly controlled by vegetation structure Slide 12 11 Early grown of corn on control (left) and compost amended (right) Plots on Woodstown silt loam soil (Epstein and Chaney, 1974). Slide 13 12 Strongly wilted corn on control plot in experiment with biosolids Compost application to Woodstown silt loam (Epstein and Chaney) Slide 14 13 Corn on biosolids compost treated soil on same day as control plot corn was strongly wilted (Epstein and Chaney). Slide 15 14 4. Water regulation- regulation of hydrological flows Slide 16 15 Water 0.1 bar Control0.31 Compost0.48 % Change155 5. Water supply- storage and retention of water Slide 17 16 NRCS www.skyways.org/orgs/fordco/dustbowl/ 6. Erosion control and sediment retention Slide 18 17 7. Nutrient cycling storage, cycling, acquisition of nutrients Slide 19 18 9. Waste treatment recovery of nutrients, pollution control and detoxification Slide 20 19 10 & 11. Pollination and biological control provisioning of pollinators and reduction of herbivory by top predators Slide 21 20 12. Refugia habitat for resident and transient populations Slide 22 21 13. Food production portion of primary production extractable as food Slide 23 22 Yield pictures tell the story Slide 24 23 Not the only consumers Slide 25 24 14. Raw materials the production of lumber, fuel, fodder Slide 26 25 15. Genetic resources source of unique biological materials and products Slide 27 26 16. Recreation providing opportunities for eco-tourism, fishing Slide 28 27 17. Cultural aesthetic, educational Slide 29 28 To conclude Soil resources are an integral component of ecosystem function Healthy soils here shown as restored soils are able to provide these ecosystem services much more effectively than degraded soils Slide 30 29 My 5 minutes http://media.nap.edu/podcasts/nax74dirtonsoil.mp3 Slide 31 Sally Brown University of Washington Phone: (206) 616-1299 Email: slb@u.washington.edu