Decode 6

Can Blockchain Make Carbon Markets More Transparent?

Carbon markets have hit a few hiccups. One is transparency: how much are carbon credits worth and where’s the money going? Blockchain—a decentralized digital public ledger that permanently records transactions—could help.
Listen in as Alex Taylor, Core Contributor at KlimaDAO and Strategic Advisor for Carbonmark, talks us through the possibilities opened wide by using a public, open, immutable digital ledger for solving the transparency problem facing carbon markets.
Curious about carbon and ecosystem services and want to learn more?
Check out Decode 6. We're you're source for unbiased, science-based, bite-sized information about carbon and ecosystem services.

Can Rangelands Store Soil Carbon?

Rangelands take up a whopping 30% of all land cover in the United States. But we don’t really think of them as a carbon sink the same way we do crop land. So what’s the deal? Can rangelands store soil carbon?
Tune in as Megan Nasto, Research Scientist at Working Lands Conservation, talks us through the potential for rangelands as a carbon sink. She’ll walk us through how to manage cattle to improve carbon sequestration in rangeland soils and what it would take to accurately measure the carbon those soils sequester. Plus, Megan will talk through some real-life examples of improvements she’s seen in soil health and ecosystem services from rangeland projects. Buckle up!
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Bounce Back Fast: Cultivating Crop Resilience Through Soil Health

The word “resilience” brings sports movies to mind, with underdog teams grittily battling their way forward for a moment in the spotlight. But when it comes to agriculture, resilience is all about maintaining crop performance in the face of environmental stressors, pest pressure, and a changing climate. Underdogs, indeed!
Tune in as Dianna Bagnall, Research Soil Scientist for the Soil Health Institute, talks us through the relationship between improving soil health and growing more resilient crops. As farming becomes ever more difficult in the face of unpredictable growing conditions, cultivating crop resilience is key to the livelihoods of farmers and maintaining yields to keep food, feed, and fiber production rolling.
Curious about carbon and ecosystem services and want to learn more?
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Preserving Tribal Lands with Carbon Markets: National Indian Carbon Coalition

Protect, preserve, and create economic resources. This is the mission of the National Indian Carbon Coalition (NICC), which works with tribal members and leaders to find new opportunities for tribal land. NICC works with tribes to develop carbon sequestration projects, protect tribal natural resources, and generate revenue for land acquisition and community development. 
Bryan Van Stippen, program director of NICC, describes how carbon markets can create new sources of revenue, preserve land ownership, and combat climate change on the 56.2 million acres of tribal land in the United States. 
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Improving On-Farm Return on Investment with Soil Biology

There are three pillars of agriculture: Soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil biology. New techniques for measuring soil biology are popping up, but what can they actually tell you? And will they give you a better bang for your buck on the farm?
Meri Mullins, technical account lead at Biome Makers, is our expert with the answers. Meri will walk us through why measuring soil biology is so important, how it can help you troubleshoot problem areas in your fields, and what it can do for your ROI. 
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Corn Stalks to Clover: Connecting Crop Residue and Soil Health

Crop residue is no waste--when left on a field, it's a great way to boost soil microbial activity and provide nutrients for the next crop. 
Listen in as Dr. Jeanette Norton, a soil microbiologist at Utah State University, explains the benefits of leaving crop residue on the soil, the role of microbes in the soil food web, and the benefits of different residue types for supplying nutrients. 
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Hitting the ”Easy Button” on Conservation Practices

Preventing nutrient loss and improving water quality go hand-in-glove. But actually implementing conservation practices like tile drainage treatment systems or bioreactors? Now that can be tough.
Enter John Swanson, Water Resources Supervisor in Polk County, IA. John's team has used a "batch-and-build" method of getting conservation practices from concept to completion. With this method, John and his team have increased adoption of saturated buffers and bioreactors by 600%--listen and see how you, too, can "hit the easy button" on conservation practices.
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Precision Nutrient Management: Boost Efficiency, Cut Input Costs

Precision nutrient management is all about "spoon-feeding" your crops the right nutrients at the right time, improving efficiency and improving your on-farm return on investment. 
Tune in as Carrie Vollmer-Sanders, the Sustainability Director for US Farmers and Ranchers in Action, talks us through the first steps you can take to get started with precision nutrient management on your farm. 
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How Does Soil Health Impact Water Quality?

Soil supports plant growth, regulates chemical processes, controls and filters water--soil and water interact all the time. So how does soil health impact water quality? 
Dr. Ron Turco, a professor and head of the Agronomy Department at Purdue University, is here with the answers. He'll walk us through the interactions between water and the soil, and how changing practices can help us keep soil, nutrients, and microbes in place, where plants can use them. 
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Too Much of a Good Thing? Nutrients & Water Quality

Nutrients are essential for us to grow food, feed, fuel, and fiber. But what happens when there's too much of a good thing? 
Dr. Helen Jarvie, a professor at University of Waterloo, Canada, is here to talk us through the impact of nutrients on water quality. She'll tackle eutrophication, watershed conservation, and how we can preserve our non-renewable resources and improve water quality.
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