S2E7: Why is soil carbon measurement so tricky?—w/ Dr. Jane Zelikova of Carbon180

At Nori, we’re interested in helping people get paid for carbon sequestration, including the farmers and ranchers implementing soil health practices. But as much as scientists have learned about how to quantify soil carbon, there is still a lot left to be done. So, what can one do to 1) help support the producers who are interested in sequestering CO2, and 2) compensate them for the work they do?

 

Dr. Jane Zelikova is the Chief Scientist at Carbon180, a carbon removal think tank on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon, and cofounder of 500 Women Scientists, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming the leadership, diversity, and public engagement in science.  On this episode of the Reversing Climate Change, Jane joins Ross and Christophe to share her ecologist’s perspective on climate math. She discusses the challenges of measuring the carbon content of soil and the projections around how much CO2 we can sequester with improved management practices. 

 

Jane describes her time working with farmers and ranchers in the West, explaining what she learned about the challenges they face in implementing soil health practices and why it’s so much harder to measure carbon sequestration on rangeland versus cropland. Listen in for Jane’s critique of capitalism as a framework for climate solutions and learn how you can be a part of the work 500 Women Scientists is doing to make the field inclusive and accessible to everyone.

 

Key Takeaways

 

[5:53] An ecologist’s perspective on climate math

Stop additional emissions over and above carbon cycle Remove emissions in atmosphere (since Industrial Revolution)

 

[10:02] The top trends in the soil carbon space

People discussing, looking for ways to pay for carbon sequestration Understand and improve or optimize what microbes already doing

 

[13:18] The challenges around measuring the carbon content of soil

Takes significant time and effort to measure Can’t quantify at scale needed to describe variation in contexts

 

[16:24] How much CO2 we can sequester with improved management practices

Some studies estimate land sink at 900 Tg-C per year Potential for 100 Tg-C per year via US cover crops in next 5 years

 

[20:42] What producers need to implement soil health practices

Access to technical assistance and education Science infrastructure (collect data and track outcomes) Business and policy incentives

 

[27:19] The controversy re: measuring carbon sequestration on rangelands

Easier to collect data across field borders vs. grazing systems Can’t confirm grazing management practices yield strong carbon benefits

 

[32:24] How weather and geography influence soil dynamics

Soil is living system with carbon going in and out Organisms respire more in warmer climates

 

[37:54] Jane’s criticism of using capitalism as a framework for climate solutions

Potential for furthering system that created problem Trends toward tech solutions, disregards socioeconomic challenges Solutions must be accessible to everyone, not just wealthy

 

[47:20] The origin story and evolution of 500 Women Scientists

Began with open letter written in response to 2016 election Grew into nonprofit organization with 400 chapters worldwide Change system so science is inclusive and accessible to all

 

[52:18] The idea that science aspires to a standard of objectivity

Scientists inherently biased, influenced by culture and worldview Questions we’re asking in and of themselves inherently biased

 

Connect with Ross & Christophe

 

Nori

Nori on Facebook 

Nori on Twitter

Nori on Medium

Nori on YouTube

Nori on GitHub

Nori on Patreon

Nori Newsletter

Email podcast@nori.com 

Nori White Paper

Subscribe on iTunes

Carbon Removal Newsroom

 

Resources

 

Carbon180

Carbon180 on Medium

Carbon180 on Twitter

Jane on Twitter

500 Women Scientists

500 Women Scientists on Twitter

No Place Like Home Podcast

AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships

DOE Office of Fossil Energy

Fargione Paper in Science Advances

David Roberts on RCC S2EP03

UT’s Leafcutter Ant Research Lab