To: Permaculture ibiblio <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>, BPG <bloomington_permaculture_guild@lists.riseup.net>
Subject: [permaculture] Mycorrhiza Matter!
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:22:30 -0400
Mycorrhiza Matter!
How land management impacts these microbes and how they can impact the
world when soil is living and breathing.
By Alison Grantham
(snip)
Never before has there been such a demand for answers to raising more
food more sustainably with more understanding of the largely invisible
microbial world underground.
The Rodale Institute is all about finding practical, accessible,
biological solutions to some of the world's biggest problems, like
climate change and famine. We've identified many ways that organic
agriculture improves soil and builds resilience across varying
conditions. One of the most amazing parts is our discovery that a
beneficial type of soil fungus plays a major role in explaining the
long-term positive changes that happen over a period of years in
well-run organic systems.
Through working with a community of persistently curious scientists,
we've found that arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM -- Greek for "tree-like
fungus roots") may play a big part in building soil health and good soil
structure that lead to greater agricultural productivity. By sharing how
this discovery has unfolded in our work over several decades, I'll
suggest how you can apply new insights to your soil that can help to
improve our world.