| 27 Part of the trust’s long term goal is to see soil carbon monetised for credits the same way trees are. RURAL PEOPLE » Andrew Russell implications in lobbying Government for soil carbon to be included in greenhouse gases offsets. “We are not so much looking at the surface level but deep carbon,” Andrew says. “That top three to four hundred millimetres is quite fickle, depending on drought and what’s going on. If you can build that carbon in the deeper strata it’s much more stable. If you get a dry year it doesn’t all disappear.” In addition to carbon enhancing the soil biology, when present in sufficient amounts it significantly increases the soil’s moisture holding capacity. “That by definition makes it much more resilient going into the dry periods.” Part of the trust’s long term goal is to see soil Please call us for a free, no obliga�on assessment of your trees. We will maximise the return on your Forest Office: 06 327 5263 | John Turkington: 0274 458 410 | Email: john@jtl.co.nz John Turkington Forestry | 252-254 Broadway | P.O Box 98 | Marton • Harvesting • Log Marketing • Forest Management • Carbon Forestry • Forest Valuation • Establishment • Silviculture • Earthworks • Resource Consents Proud to support Andrew Russell For all your Hay - Silage - Cultivation Phone Mike 021 733 918 mike@mikekettle.co.nz | www.mikekettlecontracting.co.nz carbon monetised for credits the same way trees are, Andrew says. However for him, this is not the biggest driver as soil carbon is a great indicator of the health of everything else, but he believes farmers are generally “blissfully unaware” of what is or is not under their feet.He estimates his farm’s pastures comprise about 70% clover compared to the typical amount of around 30%. “We don’t put any nitrogen [on our farm] at all. We don’t seem to suffer from anything and we run [data shared] Farmax and we’re not falling behind other comparable files. If you can get that clover going with some root nodules on it that’s carbon for free, but you’ve got to get the soil in the right condition to do it.”
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