自然保护区的土壤（英文版）_20页_5mb

Summary of "Soil at The Nature Conservancy"

Core Content

This document outlines The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) shared science agenda focused on soil management as a critical component of its conservation efforts. It highlights the intrinsic connection between soil and the wellbeing of both people and the environment, emphasizing the role of soil in climate change mitigation, sustainable food production, and biodiversity protection. The document also provides an overview of current soil management practices, their implementation across TNC's regions, and the science priorities for advancing soil-related conservation objectives.

Main Points

• Soil's Role in Conservation: Soil is essential for achieving TNC's conservation goals, including tackling climate change, promoting sustainable food production, and protecting habitat and biodiversity.
• Climate Change Mitigation: Soil is a significant carbon sink, holding twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. Practices such as reforestation, reduced tillage, and cover cropping help sequester carbon, while managing soil emissions like methane and nitrous oxide is also vital.
• Sustainable Food Production: Healthy soil supports nutrient cycling, water retention, and biodiversity, which are crucial for agricultural productivity and food quality.
• Biodiversity Protection: Soil supports diverse microorganisms that aid plant growth and ecosystem resilience. Practices that restore vegetation and manage fire regimes have strong impacts on soil properties and biodiversity.
• Soil Management Practices: These practices are categorized by their impact on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. Examples include agroforestry, cover cropping, fire management, and reforestation.

Key Information

Implementation and Outcomes

• TNC is already implementing various soil management practices to achieve conservation outcomes.
• Direct soil projects, such as the Northern Rangelands Trust partnership in Kenya, aim to increase soil carbon and leverage carbon markets.
• Indirect soil impacts, like those seen at Matador Ranch in Montana, help preserve biodiversity and soil carbon without directly targeting soil.

Regional Distribution of TNC Soil Projects

• The majority of TNC's soil-related projects are in North America, but soil projects exist across all regions, including forests, grasslands, wetlands, and agricultural ecosystems.
• In Africa, soil projects focus on rangeland and water system management, while in Latin America, they involve agricultural supply chains and water funds.
• In the Corn Belt of the USA, efforts to reduce nutrient and sediment loss are key, with projects like the Mackinaw River watershed and the reThink Soil Roadmap.

reThink Soil Roadmap

• Launched in 2016, the reThink Soil Roadmap aims to improve soil health in the US by promoting reduced tillage, cover cropping, and targeted nutrient use.
• It seeks to have 50% of arable land under these practices by 2025 and involves partnerships with the Soil Health Institute and the Soil Health Partnership.

Northern Rangelands Trust Partnership

• A community-led initiative in Kenya that supports local conservancies and incentivizes sustainable rangeland practices through carbon sequestration.
• This project is vital for long-term ecosystem management and biodiversity conservation.

Water Funds Projects

• These projects use terrestrial conservation to protect aquatic resources by addressing soil erosion and nutrient loss.
• They are implemented in various regions and often involve collaboration with local farmers to promote practices like terracing and agroforestry.
• Water Funds also aim to increase agricultural productivity and farmer income through climate-smart agriculture.

Science Agenda and Priorities

• TNC has developed its first shared soil science agenda, rooted in the priorities of its staff and informed by global conservation goals.
• The agenda focuses on three broad types of applied science:
  1. Translational Research: Converting scientific knowledge into actionable strategies.
  2. Empirical Studies: Expanding understanding of how soil management affects conservation outcomes.
  3. Measurement and Monitoring Tools: Developing standardized metrics to track progress and impact.

Priority Areas for Soil Science

• Build and Protect Soil Carbon:

  • Estimate potential for soil carbon sequestration across different ecosystems.
  • Quantify the effectiveness of land management practices in building and maintaining soil carbon.
  • Develop the value proposition of building soil organic matter for farmers.
  • Estimate avoided soil carbon loss from conservation activities.
  • Resolve barriers to soil carbon projects and jurisdictional approaches.
  • Identify and promote market-based mechanisms for soil carbon sequestration.

• Reduce Nutrient Loss and Sedimentation:

  • Quantify how on-field practices impact greenhouse gases.
  • Quantify co-benefits of building soil carbon for nutrient run-off and leaching.
  • Predict and monitor the effect of land management on reducing soil erosion.

• Promote Biodiversity:

  • Investigate the impact of microbial management on native species restoration.
  • Explore the effects of building soil carbon through compost on native biodiversity.

• Restore and Optimize Soil Fertility:

  • Assess the impact of agrochemicals on soil properties.
  • Quantify the co-benefit of building soil carbon for productivity and resilience.
  • Understand the relationship between land management and soil water retention.

• Achieve Implementation at Scale:

  • Identify barriers to the adoption of soil management practices.
  • Develop rapid and low-cost tools for measuring soil properties.
  • Determine the scale of adoption needed for significant impact.

Conclusion

The shared soil science agenda aims to align TNC's conservation efforts with the best available scientific knowledge, ensuring that soil management is integrated into all aspects of its work. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration, both internally and externally, to drive innovation and scale impact. The agenda provides a framework for future initiatives, focusing on actionable science, empirical research, and effective monitoring tools to achieve broader conservation goals.