How hidden soil fungi 'steal' bacterial DNA to control the rain Tiny organisms on the ground – bacteria and fungi – have a “superpower” that allows them to reach up into the atmosphere and pull down the rain, according to a recent study. To understand how a microbe can control a storm, we first have to look at how clouds become rain. High up in the atmosphere, water doesn’t always freeze at 0°C. Temperatures are normally much lower at cloud level but pure water can stay liquid down to a bone-chilling -40°C. Most rain starts as ice. In the atmosphere, clouds are full of “supercooled” water – liquid that is colder than freezing but hasn’t turned to ice yet because it has nothing to hold onto. For a cloud to turn into rain or snow, it needs a “seed”– a tiny particle for water molecules to grab onto so they can crystallise into ice, then fall from the clouds as rain. Dust, soot and salt – swept into the clouds by wind – can do this, but they aren’t very good at it. They usually require the temperature to drop significantly before they start working. This is where biology enters the frame. Meet the ice-makers For decades, scientists have known about...

How hidden soil fungi 'steal' bacterial DNA to control the rain
->The Conversation | More on "Soil microbes influencing rainfall patterns" at BigEarthData.ai | #Soil

Meet the British Society of Soil Science at the Global Soil Biodiversity Conference 12 to 15 April 2026 | Stand number 4

Attending today? Join us at Stand 4 to connect with our President Prof. Paul Hallett, and Executive Director Andy Morris.

🔗 https://ow.ly/4yxh50YGEfO

#Biodiversity #Soil #GSB2026

Cost-Share Programs for Climate-Smart Pasture and Soil Practices BLACKSBURG, Va. — Virginia farmers and landowners have a new opportunity this spring to be compensated for conservation practices that support soil health, pasture productivity and long-term farm resilience. Enrollment is open statewide for the Alliance to Advance Climate-Smart Agriculture, paying landowners either $100 or $300 per acre for implementation of approved farming practices. The Alliance is an initiative supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Advancing Markets for Producers initiative and led by Virginia Tech, financially compensating farmers for implementing programs for climate-smart practices on working lands through two programs. “The General Program is a good fit if you want flexibility,” said Jamie Lucero, Alliance project director at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. This program allows landowners to enroll up to 120 acres in just one practice—nutrient management, grazing management, or pasture and hay planting — and earn $100 per acre. “The Pasture Renovation Subpilot is a better fit if you are able to implement all three practices within one year,” she added. This option offers a higher payment of $300 per acre but requires completing all practices and allows enrollment of up to 50 acres. Applications are open through April 30, with selections made on May...

Cost-Share Programs for Climate-Smart Pasture and Soil Practices
->Morning Ag Clips | More on "Climate-smart farming cost-share programs" at BigEarthData.ai | #Soil

Biochar Has Limited Effect On Potato Yields, But May Improve Soil And Climate

Biochar Has Limited Effect On Potato Yields, But May Improve Soil And Climate
->Eurasia Review | More on "Biochar soil climate potato research" at BigEarthData.ai | #Soil #Climate

Explainable Quantile CNN-LSTM model for uncertainty-aware multi-layer soil moisture ... Kabato, W., Hailegnaw, N., Mutum, L. & Molnar, Z. Managing soil health for climate resilience and crop productivity in a changing environment. Sci. Total Environ. 1000, 180460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180460 (2025). Arévalo-Gardini, E. et al. Growth, physiological, nutrient-uptake-efficiency and shade-tolerance responses of cacao genotypes under different shades. Agronomy https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11081536 (2021). Carr, M. & Lockwood, G. The water relations and irrigation requirements of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.): A review. Exp. Agric. 47, 653–676. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479711000421 (2011). Priori, S., Pellegrini, S., Vignozzi, N. & Costantini, E. A. C. Soil physical-hydrological degradation in the root-zone of tree crops: Problems and solutions. Agronomy https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11010068 (2020). Liu, Y. et al. Spatiotemporal evolution of soil quality under long-term apple cultivation in the Taihang Mountains, China. Agronomy https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15081922 (2025). Hawkins, J. W. et al. Low-emissions and profitable cocoa through moderate-shade agroforestry: Insights from Ghana. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 367, 108961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2024.108961 (2024). Liao, Q.-Y., Leng, P., Li, Z.-L. & Labed, J. Prediction of root-zone soil moisture and evapotranspiration in cropland using HYDRUS-1D model with different soil hydrodynamic parameter schemes. Water https://doi.org/10.3390/w17050730 (2025). Maan, C., ten Veldhuis, M.-C. & van de Wiel, B. J. H. Dynamic root growth in response to depth-varying soil moisture availability: A rhizobox study. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci...

Explainable Quantile CNN-LSTM model for uncertainty-aware multi-layer soil moisture ...
->Nature | More on "Soil moisture prediction machine learning" at BigEarthData.ai | #Soil

Happy Sunday #Stunday
🌲🌳🌴🌲🌳🌴
Wonderful #Trees
#Forests
#ForestRestoration
#Nature #soil
#Birds #Bees #Butterflies #Pollinators #topsoil
#SundayYellow
#Treehugger
#BlueSkyArtShow
🌳🌲🌳😋👍😋

Meet the British Society of Soil Science at the Global Soil Biodiversity Conference 12 to 15 April 2026 | Stand number 4

We’re here! Join us at Stand 4 to meet our President Prof. Paul Hallett, and Executive Director Andy Morris —we’d love to say hello.

🔗 https://ow.ly/Qags50YGEeQ

#Biodiversity #Soil #GSB2026

Come meet Julie today, 2-4pm at DuQoin State Fairgrounds & bring a nonperishable food/hygiene item to donate to the local food pantry!

#FortierforCongress #PerryCoIL #SoIL #DuQoinIL #DuQoinStateFairgrounds

Pair of earrings on brown card: polymer clay slices stacked with trowel

Pair of earrings on brown card: polymer clay slices stacked with trowel, seen from side angle

Pair of earrings on brown card: polymer clay slices stacked with trowel

The digging season is fast approaching for many archaeologists and geologists. These new earrings offer just the right touch of colour to excavating some fresh stratigraphy!
tephraarts.etsy.com/listing/4487...

#archaeology #geology #trowel #stratigraphy #paleosky #earthsciences #soil

Achenes keep their schedules & wisdoms; criteria are unique to themselves. Want what #AchenesKnow? Want to know #how2grow? The key is a #seed, a #soil, and a #signal. They recognize each other, so all you ever truly need is a willingness to recognize something beneficial and bountiful.

Silly toad.

Colors in the garden today.

#photography #vitamind #vitamink
#sunny #spring #soil #petals #gardeningnow #brown #gardening #greens #pollen #breathing #grateful #isntthisit #thisISIT #life #actually #earth #itsit #nature #wild #garden #primative #love #life #photos #iphone #rodene #thatsme #friends

Image source: @GamePlayMetal on YouTube

While Matt Damon is visiting, Ne-Yo Smith has already easily compared the feel, alongside Robert Downey Jr. #soil

Happy #ForestFriday
🌲🌳🌴🌲🌳🌴
Wonderful #Trees
#Forests
#ForestRestoration
#Nature #soil
#Birds #Bees #Butterflies #Pollinators #topsoil
#Treehugger
#BlueSkyArtShow
🌳🌲🌳😋👍😋

Meet the British Society of Soil Science at the Global Soil Biodiversity Conference 12 to 15 April 2026 | Stand number 4

Are you attending the Global Soil Biodiversity Conference 2026? If so, visit us on Stand 4, and meet our President Prof. Paul Hallett, and Executive Director Andy Morris.

🔗 https://ow.ly/nxRm50YGE8Z

#Biodiversity #Soil

Graphical abstract Ferreti (2026)

New publication: #Soil and #Genotype Shape the #Sugarcane #Phytobiome for Enhanced #Environmental Adaptation, by @eikokuramae.bsky.social and others.
doi.org/10.1111/1758...

Soil Use and Management Call for Papers: Special Issue Northern Lands at a Crossroads: Agriculture and climate sustainability

We welcome recent studies conducted at northern latitudes & in circumpolar regions that examine how agricultural land conversion, extended growing seasons, & the northward migration of crops driven by climate warming affect #soil, #biodiversity, & climate.

🔗 https://ow.ly/Vhft50YFIn6

#Soilscience

6 Things to Put in the Bottom of a Large #Planter (Before You Add #Soil)

dengarden.com/gardening/wh...

Episode 387. From Dead Dirt to Living Soil: Using Vermicompost Tea We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you...

Episode 387. From Dead Dirt to Living Soil: Using Vermicompost Tea
->ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture | More on "Vermicompost tea living soil" at BigEarthData.ai | #Soil

"haiku #219"

roots breathe again, deep
rivers remember their song
soil dreams green birth.

regeneration

#regeneration #breath #rivers #songs
#soil #dream #greenbirth #haiku

"nature connectedness"

A leaf breathes and I exhale
The wind moves and our thoughts unfold
No edge between my skin and soil
Only one pulse, deep and whole.

#nature #connectedness #wind
#skin #soil #pulse #whole #poem

Empower your organisation with precise soil insights 🌱

Senus lets you geo-locate & track samples, feeding verified results into our GIS cloud. Measure soil carbon, streamline workflows & support MRV reporting.

#soil #soilhealth #soilcarbon #soilsampling #agtech #sustainability

Straw tissue quality influence the formation pathways of #soil organic carbon via living #microbes or microbial necromass in a #Mollisols, Northeast #China

❇️https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jia.2025.09.020
#SOC #agroecology @agroecologymap.bsky.social

[8/8] L’enjeu est donc de redonner au concept sa dimension éthique et territoriale. L’agriculture régénératrice peut transformer les systèmes alimentaires si elle reste ancrée dans les écosystèmes locaux et les interactions entre sociétés et milieux. #geography #agriculture #soil #ecosystems

[8/8] La #renaturation reste un processus long et incertain. Des programmes comme SylvaDense évaluent l’efficacité des microforêts. Mais tous les experts s’accordent. Préserver les sols existants reste plus efficace que tenter de les reconstruire. #geography #urban #soil #biodiversity

Renaturation : les sols urbains passent au vert Faire revenir la nature en ville : c'était indiscutablement l'un des thèmes phares de la campagne des élections municipales dans les grandes agglomérations.

[1/8] Fanny Costes présente des travaux de chercheurs du Cerema et du Laboratoire sols et environnement. Ils montrent que #renaturer la ville passe d’abord par comprendre et reconstruire les sols urbains. #geography #urban #soil #biodiversity #renaturation

Trace element distribution in soils and food in intensively cultivated tropical areas of Mato ... Kromann, P. et al. Can Andean potatoes be agronomically biofortified with iron and zinc fertilizers? Plant Soil 411, 121–138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3065-0 (2017). Mishra, P., Mishra, J. & Arora, N. K. Biofortification revisited: addressing the role of beneficial soil microbes for enhancing trace elements concentration in staple crops. Microbiol. Res. 275, 127442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2023.127442 (2023). Nobile, C. G. M. et al. Climatic Thresholds for Concentrations of Minerals and Heavy Metals in Argentinean Soybean. Agron. J. 108, 532–539. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2015.0445 (2016). Jalali, M., Antoniadis, V. & Najafi, S. Assessment of trace element pollution in northern and western Iranian agricultural soils: a review. Environ. Monit. Assess. 193, 823. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09498-w (2021). Khatun, J., Intekhab, A. & Dhak, D. Effect of uncontrolled fertilization and heavy metal toxicity associated with arsenic (As), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd), and possible remediation. Toxicol 477, 153274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tox.2022.153274 (2022). Guerrieri, N., Mazzini, S. & Borgonovo, G. Food plants and environmental contamination: an update. Toxics 12, 365. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics12050365 (2024). Xia, Q. et al. Review on contaminants in edible oil and analytical technologies. Oil Crop Sci. 6, 23–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocsci.2021.02.001 (2021). Huang, S., Yamaji, N. & Ma, J. F. Metal Transport Systems in Plants. Annu. Rev. Plant. Biol. 75, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-062923-021424 (2024). Aladesanmi, O. T., Oroboade,...

Trace element distribution in soils and food in intensively cultivated tropical areas of Mato ...
->Nature | More on "Soil trace elements food safety" at BigEarthData.ai | #Soil #Food

haiku #218

Roots weave the soil’s breath
hands mend what hunger unmade
earth learns to give back.

#roots #soil #hands #hunger #earth #haiku

NEW in Agricultural Systems
Organic #carbon #sequestration under #straw return: Region-specific #modelling Framework

doi.org/10.1016/j.ag...

50-day Free: authors.elsevier.com/c/1mvCS,70zI...

#SoilOrganicMatter #SoilOrganicCarbon #carbonsequestration #soil #agriculture #model #landuse #nitrogen

The @soilbiome.bsky.social lab has always been a joy to work with!

I have been slow to post some of the projects I've worked on with them because I am allergic to social media 🤣 but late is better than never!

#scienceillustration #education
#geology #agriculture #soil #farming #microbes

Thank you Rebeka and Ira for your article and research. I always feel for the #Earth, mama #papatuanuku, when the yellow monsters remove everything and terraform the land before building. #Soil is so rich and vital, it has an intelligence we do not comprehend, and huge carbon content. #Respect