Soil Testing for Climate Action: What You Can Do
Climate change feels overwhelming. We hear about melting ice caps and rising temperatures, and it seems like only world leaders can make a real difference. But what if I told you that your backyard holds surprising power? The soil beneath our feet is one of nature's best tools for fighting climate change. It quietly stores massive amounts of carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere. And the best part? You can help make this process even better. Understanding Soil's Role in Climate Change Soil is basically a giant carbon storage system. Scientists have found that healthy soil holds more carbon than all the forests and plants on Earth combined. That's billions of tons of carbon safely stored underground instead of warming our planet. Here's what happens: plants pull carbon dioxide from the air through photosynthesis. When plants die or drop leaves, that carbon goes into the soil. Soil microbes then break down this material and lock the carbon underground where ...