1. Water Channels Baja Desert, Mexico We need to stop under-estimating the purpose, function & structure of plant root systems We need to regenerate soils, plant root systems and microbial communities intelligent communities of cells searching for moist, fertile soil in a constant quest for water & nutrients H H O O H H electrolytes electr o lytes + − Animals Soil is the foundation of food production If you’re not forest, you’re against us Climate Change Confronting

2. H H O O H H + electrolytes − photons O O C C O O nutrients cation+ −anion + − C C C C C C C C C C C C CARBON RING Carbohydrate sweetness Soil is the foundation of food production Climate Change Confronting

3. H H O O H H + electrolytes − C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C Soil is the foundation of food production sweetness O O C C O O Boron serve another function: photons Climate Change Confronting Acres USA Eco-farm magazine

4. H H O O H H + electrolytes − sweetness C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C Climate Change Confronting O O C C O O photons Soil is the foundation of food production Soil can sequester twice as much carbon as is in the atmosphere

5. O O C C O O photons 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Root S SS Systems of Prairie Plants Kentucky Bluegrass Most grasslands are degraded: U.S. Great PlainsAfrican Sahel Northern MexicoMongolia Grasslands cover 25% of the land. U.N. F.A.O. estimates grasslands hold 20% of Earth’s soil carbon. www.shootingstarnativeseed.com/documents/native-roots.pdf Grasslands Prairie Plants Kentucky Bluegrass Climate Change Confronting Soil can sequester twice as much carbon as is in the atmosphere

6. H H O O H H + electrolytes − C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C from photosynthesis is exuded exude by roots into soil 20% 40% 60% 90% 40-60% O O C C O O photons PARADIGM SHIFT Climate Change Soil can sequester twice as much carbon as is in the atmosphere Soil can sequester more carbon than is in all the atmosphere and all the plants Confronting sweetness 20% 40% 90% 60% 4-60% C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C is leaked is released is secreted

7. H H O O H H + electrolytes − C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C Weight of Organisms in 7 inches of topsoil organismlbs/acre Plant Roots2000 Fungi & Molds2000 Bacteria1000 Actinomycetes1000 Earthworms1000 Protozoa200 Algae100 Insects100 Nematodes50 Bacteria Fungi Archaea Actinomycetes Protozoa Algae Nematodes Insects Earthworms Soil Food Web O O C C O O photons Soil can sequester more carbon than is in all the atmosphere and all the plants Climate Change Confronting sweetness

8. C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C Rhizobia bacteria i n nodules on broad bean roots Nitrogen-fixing nitrogenase enzymes Lichen Fungi & Algae symbiosis: partnership Fungi eat rock, dissolve minerals Algae make sugar from sunshine Create biomolecules & protoplasm Final product is new soil Root-Microbe Interactions Partnerships largely unknown, unexplored Bacteria-Root symbosis known, poorly studied Fungi-Root study mushroomed in recent years Symbiosis begins early in evolution, as Lichen in seeds, at emergence root tips crowned by fungal cap roots coated by fungal fuzz intimate interconnections mycelium coats roots like hair nutrient pipelines & information networks Microbial Colonization Soil Food Web Climate Change Confronting Soil can sequester more carbon than is in all the atmosphere and all the plants

9. C C C C C C C C C C C C myco rhizome myco rhiza = fungus = root mycorrhiza = fungus root Fungi-Root Interactions roots extended by fungal networks enhance water gathering expand nutrient scavenging increase nutrient storage symbiotic cooperators helper bacteria extensions of plant immune systems carbon sinks & sequestration Mutual Services Gather & conserve water Seek & mobilize nutrients Nutrient storage & exchanges Nutrient conversions & cycles Building special biomolecules Energy & Information exchange Environment sensing: signaling, networks) provide water, food & shelter for the microbes Feed the soil, not the plants Soil can sequester more carbon than is in all the atmosphere and all the plants Microbial Colonization Soil Food Web Climate Change Confronting