Carbon & Soil Organic Matter

Check it Out: Carbon and Cow$ Podcast

WSU and University of Idaho are launching a podcast about carbon markets and livestock agriculture!  In the debut episode of the Carbon and Cow$ Podcast, we speak with Dr. Craig Frear, Director of Research and Technology at Regenis, about dairy anaerobic digesters and the mechanisms behind their on-farm viability in relation to emerging opportunities in carbon […]

Close up of a cow at a dairy

Does Pacific Northwest-Sourced Biochar Have a Future as a Soil Amendment in Annual Cropping Systems?

By Doug Finkelnburg, University of Idaho Extension I recently had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the “Making and Using Biochar” workshop hosted by my colleague and Area Forestry Extension Educator Chris Schnepf in Sandpoint, Idaho. The program was designed to give foresters, forest owners, and agriculturists an introduction to biochar in forestry and […]

Workers removing charcoal-like material from a trailer with a large, covered metal container

Progress in Applying a Multi-Model Ensemble Approach to Soil Carbon

By David I Gustafson, Adjunct Research Faculty at Washington State University When it comes to climate adaptation and mitigation opportunities in agriculture, few (if any) are of greater importance than practices that sequester more soil carbon, which can directly reduce the heat-trapping effects of atmospheric CO2. Boosting soil carbon also has multiple direct benefits for […]

Flowering potato crop, with center pivot across the background

Climate Smart Commodities for Idaho – A Public-Private-Tribal Partnership

By Doug Finkelnburg, University of Idaho Extension The largest grant ever awarded in the history of the University of Idaho will explore how Idaho’s agriculture can address climate change. Over the next five years, $55 million will be spent to research and implement greenhouse gas (GHG) reducing practices in Idaho’s farming and ranching systems. The […]

Cattle graze swathed cover-crops in annually cropped field in North Idaho

What do Hurricanes and Soil Carbon Have in Common? The Wisdom of a Multi-Model Ensemble Approach

By David I. Gustafson, Adjunct Research Faculty at Washington State University “It’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.” So goes an apparently ancient Danish aphorism also mistakenly credited to a wide range of humorists, from Yogi Berra to Mark Twain – and even to a Nobel Laureate, Niels Bohr. Whatever its origins, it […]

Map of the Caribbean with lines curving from the northern coast of S. America across to a widening swath of western western Cuba and southern Florida

Cleaning Stormwater with Sequestered Carbon

By Chelsea Mitchell, PhD candidate, Washington State University, Washington Stormwater Center* Stormwater runoff has become one of the greatest environmental challenges we face in western Washington, a region with heavy rainfall and widespread urbanization. In parts of the landscape dominated by impervious surfaces, such as roads, buildings, and parking lots, rainfall is not able to […]

Runoff entering a bioretention system via a curb cut

The Basics of Carbon Markets and Trends: Something to Keep an Eye On

By Karen Hills, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University The ability to store carbon in soils—to sequester carbon—has been receiving increased attention lately, including on AgClimate.net. Recent posts included articles about potential for croplands in the inland Pacific Northwest to sequester carbon and an article on the emerging carbon markets and […]

Building Better Biochar Breakthroughs: A Roadmap for Biochar Research

By Embrey Bronstad, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University What is the first thing you think when you hear “Black Gold”? Is it the theme song for the Beverly Hillbillies? A baritone “Texas Tea”? Well, some people think “BIOCHAR!” Now, if you are reading this article, you probably know what biochar […]

Hand holding a handful of dark, soil-like substance

Get out the Map! A Soil Health Roadmap for Washington

By Karen Hills, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University Soil has been called “the living skin of the Earth.” The effort to maintain the health of this “living skin” in Washington got a boost in 2021 when the State Legislature passed the Washington Soil Health Initiative with a $2.1 million annual […]

Two hands holding a handful of dark soil

Here’s the Dirt on Carbon Sequestration Potential in Cropland Soils

By Nicole Bell, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University In this era with record-setting temperatures multiple years in a row, scientists are looking for methods to sequester carbon to slow the process of climate change. Agriculture plays a key role in not just the global economy, but also the global carbon […]

Aerial view of green and dry center pivot circles with the Columbia River in the background