Agroforestry is helping return life to the land in Central America. Root systems help prevent rainwater runoff and soil erosion and “build terraces of fertility over time”. The plants also sequester carbon and provide the community with a wider variety of food. So far, over 400,000 trees have been planted across 125 villages.

A persistent argument against forest restoration is that tree plantations do not provide any food or market access. How do we reconcile the need for tree cover and the need for food and other products?

Sunn hemp, a tropical plant primarily grown as a cover crop or green manure, has increased dramatically in popularity over the last decade. Originally from India, it’s easy to understand what makes it so popular among vegetable and row crop farmers in the United States.

Biomass is fundamental to circular agricultural systems. Estimates of above- and below ground biomass carbon were combined with a tree cover analysis to estimate the increase in biomass. Global increases (4−6 PgC for incremental change; 12−19 PgC for systemic change) highlight substantial mitigation potential. Increasing global tree cover on agricultural land by 10% would sequester more than 18 PgC.

The hardy root crop could be part of the solution to the grain supply challenges aggravated by the Ukraine war

Here we show that during the course of nature restoration on abandoned arable land a compositional shift in soil biota, preceded by tightening of the belowground networks, corresponds with enhanced efficiency of carbon uptake.

The magic ingredient is the way inhabitants of these landscapes have mastered their own destiny. Better governance leads to more secure tenure of land and trees, fewer conflicts between customary and legal rights, and agreed and enforced community wide rules.

Only time will tell if governments will design agricultural policies in a way that protects our soils and supports farmers in their efforts to do the same.

With the 1,000 Farm Initiative, Jonathan Lundgren will spend the next 10 years studying the potential to draw carbon into the soil and bring life back to farm fields.

In November 2021, scientists at the Famine Early Warning System Network sent out a warning that an unprecedented drought in the Horn of Africa was imminent if poor seasonal rainfall…