*Global CA-CoP* *CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE*

*for sustainable production intensification and land management*

Dear Subscribers,

Please see herebelow an important correction to your California Soil Health
News!

Apologies for any cross-posting.

Amir Kassam

Moderator

e-mail: [log in to unmask]
URL: www.fao.org/ag/ca

[image: Inline image 1]
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CA Soil Health Network <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, Nov 22, 2016 at 4:56 PM
Subject: Oops! We have a correction to your California Soil Health News!
To: *|FNAME|* *|LNAME|* <[log in to unmask]>


The California Soil Health Network brings together the diverse agricultural
systems in our state through a producer-led network to share success and
challenges in soil health practices.
View this email in your browser
<http://us3.campaign-archive2.com/?u=e25e5a4fc7d159fa15de3d2ba&id=e77608d83d&e=f5363afa33>
California Soil Health Network


*Whoops!*  I apologize, but the article included in our newsletter, Soil
Carbon & Climate Change was a bit misleading in its description, although
it did spark some great conversation among many of my peers.  Check out one
of their responses below along with a better description of the article
from *Science* journal.  Sorry about the mishap, but thanks for
understanding!
Best,
Jeff

*From Whendee L. Silver Professor of Ecosystem Ecology and Biogeochemistry
and Rudy Grah Endowed Chair in Forestry and Sustainability, Department
of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, UC Berkeley:*

The He et al. paper points out that the large models don’t yet incorporate
some of the important mechanisms of ecosystem carbon cycling. The goals of
the He et al. (2016) paper were to explore and test the assumptions made by
Earth Systems Models (ESMs) with regard to changes in soil carbon stocks
with elevated CO2 concentrations. ESMs integrate large-scale processes in
the biosphere (including land, ocean, ice, and atmosphere) to predict
patterns in regional and global climate using a variety of scenarios (i.e.
different levels of elevated CO2). These large, complex models often as yet
do not capture detailed process-level information of modeled components.
The He et al. study focuses on the inability of a current suite of ESM
models to capture mechanisms driving soil carbon cycling in response to
elevated CO2. They focus on the worst case scenario (RCP 8.5 – the most
rapid and extreme rates of greenhouse gas emissions with minimal
mitigation).

The He et al. paper uses empirical soil radiocarbon (14C) data to show that
the ESMs are as yet unable to accurately represent soil carbon cycling at a
global scale. Soil radiocarbon analyses are a form of carbon dating that
allow us to estimate the turnover time, or residence time, of carbon in the
soil. It is important to note that the radiocarbon technique has its own
set of assumptions and limitations, importantly that a small amount of very
old carbon can bias the overall age of the material being measured, making
all of it appear older than it is. The paper also assumes that the sites
sampled are in steady state, which is unlikely given some of the other
assumptions in the same paper.

Neither the ESMs nor the He et al. analysis consider the role of
agricultural and grassland management on soil carbon storage
(differentiated from land cover change such as deforestation). This is an
emerging area in the modeling arena, and will undoubtedly improve the
accuracy of the models.

Thus, the conclusions of He et al. have no bearing on the potential to
increase soil carbon sequestration and help mitigate climate change via
improved land management. It is also important to note that not all carbon
needs to be stored in long-lived carbon stocks to have a positive impact on
the atmosphere. As long carbon inputs exceed carbon outputs, there will be
less CO2 in the air. It is possible, based on existing data and models,
that the size of young and intermediate-aged pools could increase for many
years, particularly as a result of improved management.

A key finding in the He et al. paper is that elevated CO2 *alone* may lead
to smaller increases in soil carbon than previously thought. Thus
mitigation of climate change requires *active and rapid improvement* in
land management globally.

News, Research & Publications!
Soil Carbon & Climate Change
<http://eaststanrcd.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e25e5a4fc7d159fa15de3d2ba&id=52dbeb1dc4&e=f5363afa33>

A rigorous study
<http://eaststanrcd.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e25e5a4fc7d159fa15de3d2ba&id=2d5a620fe3&e=f5363afa33>
published in the journal* Science* explores and test the assumptions made
by Earth Systems Models (ESMs) with regard to changes in soil carbon stocks
with elevated CO2 concentrations.

Join Us At These Great Events!
Network Events
100 Year CCA & CCW Convention
December 1-4,2016.
Nugget Casino Resort
Sparks, Nevada

EcoFarm Conference
January 25-28, 2017
Asilomar Conference Grounds
Pacific Grove, California
https://eco-farm.org/conference
<http://eaststanrcd.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e25e5a4fc7d159fa15de3d2ba&id=f877864e76&e=f5363afa33>
Partner Events
World Ag Expo
February 14-16, 2017
International Agri-Center
Tulare, California
http://worldagexpo.com/
<http://eaststanrcd.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e25e5a4fc7d159fa15de3d2ba&id=4b1788912b&e=f5363afa33>

CalCAN Summit 2017
Feb 28th & Mar 1st, 2017
UC Davis Conference Center
Davis, California
I am grateful for what I am and have.  My thanksgiving is perpetual.
*-Henry David Thoreau*
*Copyright © 2016 East Stanislaus Resource Conservation District, All
rights reserved.*
Get the latest news on soil health on-farm demonstrations, field trials,
and research in California!

*Our mailing address is:*
East Stanislaus Resource Conservation District
3800 Cornucopia Way, Suite E
Modesto, CA 95358

Add us to your address book
<http://eaststanrcd.us3.list-manage1.com/vcard?u=e25e5a4fc7d159fa15de3d2ba&id=28a0065168>


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences
<http://eaststanrcd.us3.list-manage1.com/profile?u=e25e5a4fc7d159fa15de3d2ba&id=28a0065168&e=f5363afa33>
or unsubscribe from this list
<http://eaststanrcd.us3.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=e25e5a4fc7d159fa15de3d2ba&id=28a0065168&e=f5363afa33&c=e77608d83d>

[image: Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp]
<http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=monkey_rewards&aid=e25e5a4fc7d159fa15de3d2ba&afl=1>

########################################################################

To unsubscribe from the CA-Cop-L list, click the following link:
&*TICKET_URL(CA-Cop-L,SIGNOFF);