Rattan Lal Receives the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity

The Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity honored three pioneers in sustainable agriculture this year, including Dr. Rattan Lal, Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming, and the SEKEM collective. 

A Chance Encounter

By Helga Flores Trejo Last May, I travelled to Brazil to attend a Bayer organized event in the context of the G20 meeting of the Agricultural Chief Scientists. The event inspired me with an outstanding display of innovations that are bringing decarbonization of agriculture to life – you can learn more about these innovations further below

From the Desk of Professor João Carlos De Moraes Sá (Juca Sá)

By João Carlos De Moraes Sá What lessons have we learned from Mother Nature about soil? Upon entering, walking through, and collecting a soil sample from any given geographical area under native vegetation, one will invariably encounter three basic scenarios: a) a soil surface permanently covered with organic material in the form of various residue types, b) a high diversity of plant and animal life, as well as microbial activity, meso and macrofauna, and c) a dark, soft, carbon-rich...

C-FARM: Extension

Dr. Murumkar and Ms. Oruganti to lead Extension component of the Carbon Farming Alliance for Research and Management (C-FARM) Project By Asmita Murumkar and Prasanna Oruganti Dr. Asmita Murumkar is an Assistant Professor and Ecosystems Services Field Specialist in the Department of Extension at the Ohio State University, brings extensive expertise in agroecosystem modeling, conservation practices, climate change and data analytics.

OSU Extension Team Organizing Events to Educate Ag Communities About Carbon Farming

By Asmita Murumkar Dr. Asmita Murumkar is leading the extension component of the Carbon Farming Alliance for Research and Management (C-FARM) project, alongside Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins, Mike Estadt, Heather Neikirk, and Prasanna Oruganti. They recently launched the first Carbon Academy event for OSU extension educators in April 2024. This event featured various principal investigators of the project covering a wide array of topics, including the basics of the carbon cycle, carbon farming for...

C-FARM: Living Soils of the Americas

By Carla Gavilan As a central factor of the Carbon Farming Alliance for Research and Management (C-FARM) project, monitoring changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks is crucial for identifying sustainable land use practices related to climate change mitigation, food security, and land degradation. Accurately quantifying SOC and modeling its spatial variability is vital for making informed decisions. A major challenge in many developing countries is the lack of data to establish a solid...

NIFA: Soil Microbiome Impact

By Chinmayee Priyadarshini   PhD student Chinmayee Priyadarshini is working on the a National Institutite of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) study “Impacts of agricultural systems on the dynamics and functions of soil and tomato-associated microbiome and productivity,” with Dr. Xia Ye and Dr. Rattan Lal. The study focuses on improving the plant health and disease resistance via soil health management. The project aims at investigating the synergistic impact of cover crops, bio stimulants...

Stark County Projects Updates

By Lauren Baldarelli and Gunadhish Khanal Updates for The Stark Sustainable Soil Initiative, led by researcher Dr. Baldarelli and funded by Herbert W. Hoover Foundation, and Cover Crop Impacts on Soil Carbon Inferred by Modeling and Soil Optical Properties, led by researcher Dr. Khanal in collaboration with Kent State University.

Special Presentation @ Ecology on Tap

By Anna Kolganova On July 20th, I had the opportunity to present a talk at the Ecology on Tap event. The main goal of Ecology on Tap is to educate a lay audience on ecology topics and bring attention to major environmental issues. My presentation, titled “A Burp Away from a Climate Catastrophe,” focused on explaining and addressing a series of questions: What is the mechanism of climate change? How do dairy cows contribute to climate change?

Visitors from NHK

The Lal Carbon Center was so pleased to welcome three filmmakers from Japan – Shu Hirayama, Nagamitsu Endo, and Kazue Shirai – who visited the Center to interview Dr. Rattan Lal for an upcoming documentary about chernozems for the Japanese Broadcasting Company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK). We hope that our guests had a lovely time speaking with our Center Members, recording with Dr. Lal in the field, and listening to a lecture that he gave that week entitled “Soil and Ecosystem...

Meeting of Leaders of Rurality of the Americas

Strengthening Rurality through Sustainable, Resilient, and Inclusive Production April 17, 2024 • San Jose, Costa Rica The first ever meeting of the Leaders of Rurality of the Americas was organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and held at its headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica with 40+ leaders from more than 20 countries in attendance.

National Meeting of the Direct Planting System (FEBRAPDP)

July 7, 2024 • Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil Dr. Lal addressed 800+ attendees at the National Meeting of the Direct Planting System in Brazil on July 7, 2024, and event held every two years for the Brazilian Federation of Direct Planting Systems (FEBRAPDP), with a lecture entitled Carbon Farming as the Pathway for Ecosystem Services and Nature-Positive Agriculture.

List of Publications

Refereed Journal Articles Chapters in Multi-Authored Books Keynote Presentations

A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the ... Helmet?

Senior Researcher Klaus Lorenz spotted a guest outside Kottman Hall in early May of 2024. A robin chose a cozy bike helmet left by SENR students to lay her eggs in. By all accounts the babies safely hatched a few weeks later. Hopefully, they can grow up to become excellent stewards of their environment with the benefit of nearby education!