1
2
1 Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, BAU, Sabour, Bhagalpur – 813210, Email: bbmsoil@rediffmail.com
2 Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and sciences-Deemed university, Naini, Allahabad, India, Email: r.roy89@gmail.com
The current soil science initiative following the soil biodiversity partnership across the globe has opened a discussion about soil in its critical zone covering food, water and eco-system.
The global climate change is, by and large, a challenging task to be tackled not in isolation, but through integrated efforts, in all specific aspects covering each spectra of interest (e.g.
planetary physical, EM-nuclear, chemical, biological, pedogenic and anthropogenic spectra). Soil is rather the lowest boundary of the entire earth’s atmosphere excluding the portions covered with oceans.
Interacting nature of soils may be discovered precisely in order to monitor the changes in climate.
The upper layer of the atmosphere (exosphere) may be an envelope until the envelope is not disturbed by some means. Any happening in nature (physical, chemical, biological, or extraterrestrial) does not wait for tomorrow in influencing the terrestrial equilibrium system. to any undesirable happening after a lapse of time can hardly be meaningful. The challenges with global climate change are natural as well as man-made and the associated impacts are manageable with participatory commitments in a planned way on site specific basis through human intervention, pedogenic exploitation etc. On soil surface, the role of conservation agriculture as well as horticultural community is of special interest to minimize greenhouse gas emission and for promoting the soil carbon stock. The present conceptual approach covering interdisciplinary issues may lead to a concrete and reliable follow up to develop a fruitful technology in days to come, where soil science may play a vital and deciding role in its critical zone.
Today’s human population stands at a critical zone of climate change and this requires a strong sense of global interdependence on collapsible equilibrium of livelihood with surrounding environment. The climate may be the average of weather condition, but for common understanding, it is the product of multi-component and multidirectional interactions associated with inter-planetary and extra-terrestrial bodies, which form primarily the six spectra (Mishra and
Ghanshyam 2009). Out of many such interaction efforts, human interferences as well as
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pedogenic exploitation do play vital role that may be manageable by integrating the activities inventoried in line with desired climate equilibrating with livelihood. Destruction of natural set up in any form following the emission of gases and other polluting materials in undesirable quantities would result in climate change on site specific basis. Any ray from a star reaching one’s eyes in light years can tell only the past history and position of the star. The technique is tedious in which all multi-component and multidirectional interactions need to be enlisted and the associated forces and factors should be defined so that the strategic planning would be executed in a balanced framework by integrating the defined activities associated.
Soil is the lowest boundary of the entire earth’s atmosphere, excluding the part covered with ocean, with immense carbon storing potential that undergoes interactions with incoming radiation including background nuclear counts as well as chemical, biological, physical and anthropogenic interferences, wherein soil science has a bridging role within the critical zone limits (Lin 2006) in an open system to provide the food, water and environment and needs to be strengthened. The global climate change can not be considered in isolation. It is an issue to be discussed on integrated basis taking different spectra into consideration. Pedogenic spectrum is one to be addressed precisely through anthropogenic intervention. Efforts are made to consider six specta by integration of all physical, chemical, nuclear, anthropogenic, biological and pedogenic attributes together. Anthropogenic interactions with pedogenic environment need to be reviewed and updated systematically with further efforts enabling to understand how such complex system may be handled in management terms in order to rebuild a harmonizing global environment for sustaining the livelihood of the growing human population on long term basis.
The present paper is the conceptual explanation to the principles of strategic planning for combating the challenges of global as well as site-specific climate change.
The atmosphere is simply the envelope surrounding the earth’s lithosphere, wherein six spectra are playing major role in maintaining the equilibrium. These are physical form and stability of the earth i.e. planetary physical
spectrum, electromagnetic-nuclear spectrum besides chemical, biological, pedologic and anthropogenic spectra. Reports, in general, suspect that the earth did not possess its climate just with its origin perhaps. However, the earth’s primitive atmosphere was presumed to contain CH
4
, H
2
, NH
3
, N
2
, CO, CO
2
and H
2
S. Similarly, fauna and flora including their diversity contribute forcibly in balancing the atmospheric load. Besides, human interferences as well as pedogenic disturbances lead to challenge the equilibrium and stability of the earth’s atmosphere in a big way . The present day situation is crucial in
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establishing the indicators that can monitor the climate change through system integration, since the process by itself is overlapping.
It is speculative that the mass of the earth is gradually increasing following the changes in gravitational and magnetic matrix in a way to maintain unique balance among magnetic field, gravitational matrix and incoming solar radiation. Our knowledge to this vital clue is by and large scanty and nothing is confirmed. However, solar radiation is the sole regulator of major global climate change. But the amount of solar energy reaching the earth is not constant, but varies in several independent cycles of different degrees of magnitude, which may or may not reinforce each other. Surges of greenhouse gasses have always been drastically greater than the amounts currently being generated by burning the fossil fuels. The overall physical scenario results into gradual modification in earth’s atmosphere with lapses of time. With changing physical make-up of the earth, variation in incoming solar radiation and its impact on atmosphere is also changing to maintain an equilibrium, which seems to be at risk for human survival. Life is just a by-product of such equilibrium or simply as a result of changing course of global climate and thus it seems merely a natural phenomenon. However, a group of physicists may approve and quantify the mode of equilibrium among magnetic field, gravitational matrix and incoming solar radiation that could be congenial to the existence of life on the earth, since life by no means seems to be the inherent constituent of the earth’s system, but a by-product as a result of interactions during climate change. This truth has to be addressed precisely by establishing an index based on planetary physical components (gravitation, magnetism and their interactions with surrounding within exosphere) and its direct impact on existence of life. Earth’s gravitation coupled with magnetism and incoming radiation may form the basis of integration to develop an indicator and changes thereof with corresponding changes in atmospheric climates. There is thus need of physicists, environmentalists, pedologists and life scientists to sit together to arrive at some concrete hypothesis for this endeavor. This will be a true beginning of a new science in a new era, wherein physicist has to act as a hero, but in a committed team work .
The energy-energy interactions in the upper atmosphere seem to be of great importance in understanding the EM-nuclear spectrum in relation to climate change. The transitional boundary of extra-terrestrial and inter-terrestrial phases of the earth
(exosphere) is subject to unique nuclear interactions in a given set of gravitational and
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magnetic matrix and this seems to be strange in our scientific wisdom. However, the changing physical spectrum may likely to control the direction of the nuclear phenomenon and vice versa. Our knowledge to this seems also to be scanty. The exosphere-ionosphere may be a huge future laboratory for our scientists, who could monitor how is the climate becoming challenging to our survival and livelihood in days to come. Soil scientists may get exposed to the basic theme of such natural phenomenon and linkage thereof. The high altitude soils of the Himalayas are often subject to interaction with UV rays. Ozone depletion influenced on global biogeochemical cycles, by increasing UV-B radiation at the Earth’s surface, enhancing global climate change, has continued to be documented over the past couple of years. Such elevated UV-B has significant effects on the terrestrial biosphere with important implications for the cycling of carbon, nitrogen and other elements (Zepp et al., 2003). In fact, both EM and Nuclear radiation contribute significantly to the climate change through energy-energy and energy-matter interactions in the earth’s environment, but there is no indicator based on such phenomenon. A colourless water through scattering looks white when flowing in mountainous landform stream, while a wet soil could allow light to pass through it facilitating phototrophic organisms to grow (Mishra 1996). Hence, a systematic yardstick needs to be developed through integrated knowledge shop.
2.3
The earth’s primitive atmosphere was different in composition from that of today (Bohn et al 1985). The trend of such change in atmospheric composition is obvious. Challenges in climate change are the consequences of atmospheric modification and it seems to be natural. Such changes may be or may not be congenial to the survival of lives on the earth. The magnitude and rate of such change may be affected directly by planetary physical and nuclear spectra. The exosphere above ionosphere is a huge chemical laboratory due to energy-energy and energymatter interactions. The maximum concentration of ozone is captured in stratosphere, which is sensitive to photochemical reactions. The troposphere or even surface soil is very sensitive to energy interaction. Chemical and biochemical changes are taking place in permutation and combination depending on associated environment. Green house gas emission for CO
2
, N
2
O and
CH
4
are some other contributions of chemical spectrum. Voluminous reports across the globe are available to strengthen the understanding for interpretation. The changes in the atmospheric chemical spectrum are reflected by and large on pedogenic behavior too. Soil is, however, known
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to be a strong C-pool and carbon sequestration is the first and foremost option to minimize CO
2 emission. Let soil be the powerful tool to mitigate the disastrous consequences of climate change and promote the carbon trading by encouraging the adoption of conservation agriculture and establishing orchards and agro-forestry. Besides, soil is a huge chemical and biochemical laboratory wherein relevant processes responsible for carbon sequestration are yet to discover.
2.4
The biological spectrum is the indicator of the existence of earth’s atmosphere. As being the by-product of climate change, the changing trend of the mode and nature of such living products seems to be obvious. The biodiversity has thus significant balancing trend with climate change. Extinction of many living races is indicative of climate change. The human being, because of unique mindset, possesses a distinct position within a particular climatic limit, which needs to be re-defined and restored. Ecological zone or more specifically agro-ecology refers to the climatic limit integrated with biodiversity. Today’s mindset even of human race is changing due to changing in surrounding environment and more specifically, for example, due to existing technologic revolution. Biodiversity, as a whole, may be an indicator of the climate change, but its specification is still hard to define and establish. New genes and species are emerging due to environmental factors both at macro- and micro-levels. There must be a reference point to begin with such complex investigation. Soil science has a big role to stimulate such biological management. The soil biodiversity is now-a-days becoming priority to understand soil quality even. Voluminous reports are available to understand the role of biological diversity in maintaining the macro- and micro- ecosystems, which form the driving force to the mode and direction of climate both at regional as well as global levels. Microbiology has significant role to play through biochemical reactions in soil in identifying the microbial association that could contribute to climate change and soil biodiversity.
2.5
The human beings by way of their mental intelligence have immense potential to reorganize most of accessible natural set-up for self contentment. Similarly, the impact of the past human interferences can not be quantified in time and space, since it is subject to interactions with many known and undefined components. However, the integrated efforts may lead to a concrete solution to discover such impacts. The present day speedy technological revolution is alarming. The ill-human treatments during past are the consequences of what we see today.
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Human interference is not confined to any closed terrestrial system. Major human activities result into alarming consequences as given below: i.
Deforestation, mining, erosion, landslide and bare lands devoid of vegetation. ii.
Petroleum, coal and wood fuel burning with gas emission. iii.
Shrinkage (soil sealing) of natural landforms with non-farming activities/construction. iv.
Loss of biodiversity through hunting, weeding and similar acts of eradication. v.
Nuclear contamination caused by human interferences. vi.
Rapidly increasing human population and ill-techniques developed in selfishness. vii.
Industrial products like CFC through technological up-gradation/generation. viii.
Decay of organic residues, garbage etc. without recycling. ix.
Electronic networking damaging the natural stability. x.
Use of fertilizers, chemicals, insecticides in excess causing toxicity/pollution. xi.
Large area under rice cultivation causing methane emission. xii.
Uprooting of orchards and other plantation. xiii.
Ill-human activities to contaminate/pollute different food, water and air/ecology.
Science is the key to a natural system to exploit and that too for the welfare of mankind . Man lacks contentment and hardly respects nature’s rules and its setup. If he finds something benefitting, he tries to do so without caring for its consequences in the long run. Such general habit of a man is the sole cause of climatic disturbances made other than natural causes as stated elsewhere. Can we correct such wrong doings made in past and present by human race? Is it possible to streamline a eco-friendly work culture for them across the globe?
The land being the upper most surface of the earth’s crust or the sandwich between lithosphere and atmosphere of the earth is virtually the lowest boundary of the earth’s atmosphere excluding ocean/river etc. It is a sink for all types of incoming radiation, dumped organic residues, sequestering of almost all emitted green house gases (especially CO
2
and CH
4
), water, microbes and disposed materials. Besides, soil is a powerful filtering and adsorbing material besides being natural depollutant and detergent. The high buffering capacity of soil in resisting its natural chemical stability is another sign that makes the soil exploitable within a limit. Depthwise dynamics of organic matter turnover in soil needs to be re-defined and formulated in such a simple way that may help even farmers to practice. Human interferences with soil are inevitable
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as well as natural, since soil is not merely a natural resource, but more a foundation for survival and nourishment of human beings even. In particular, carbon may be sequestered in soil and carbon dioxide emission may be restricted through meaningful exploitation of soil and soil water as under:
1. Roots by respiration and organic matter with decay result into CO
2
emission in soil that may get dissolved in soil water, if present in suitable proportion.
2. Organic matter during decomposition may get complexed and chelated with differing clay types restricting further decomposition.
3. Slowing down organic matter decomposition by using suitable mechanical and microbial techniques.
4. Humus materials either present or added to soils is resistant to further decomposition restricting
CO
2
emission.
5. Special chemical arrangement to be made to divert emitted CO
2
during decomposition of organic materials in some non-emitting compounds in soils.
6. Low wavelength radiation (X-ray and gamma ray) often converts soil organic carbon to nitrogen and the mechanisms need to be quantified (Mishra et al . 2006a, 2006b, 2008).
7. EM radiation beyond 720 nm showing thermal properties may be reflected back to the atmosphere in order to suppress the soil organic matter decomposition.
8. Soil covered with vegetation round the year may buffer the diurnal temperature change and minimize the organic matter decay considerably (conservation agriculture).
9. Agro-forestry with high CO
2
demand on the river banks may sequester CO
2
by its dissolution with river water preferentially.
10. Construction of highways and railway tracks on river banks may facilitate green house gases to be sequestered under the influence of agro-forestry and river water.
Conclusively, the global climate change is virtually due to the extra-ordinary open system that seems to be beyond ones control and can hardly be inventoried without system evaluation.
The related issues, challenges and priorities to this effect are not so easy to enlist, since such exercise can not be made possible in isolation. Moreover, its science is specifically specializing, but our approach to this effect has more or less been generalizing. Taking all above spectra (Fig
1) into consideration, strategic planning may be formulated through integrated approach as below. i.
Mechanical as well as chemical efforts to minimize CO
2
, CH
4
and N
2
O emission. ii.
Carbon sequestration by mechanical, chemical, biological and pedogenic manipulation.
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iii.
Planting trees and agro-forestry of high CO
2
-demand. iv.
Green house gas emission from burning fossil, liquid, solid and gaseous fuels including other sources may be chemically utilized in some other forms. v.
Minimizing load on petroleum and other fuel sources through different bio-fuel extraction. vi.
Architectural manipulation providing greenery over buildings, lawn and similar constructions. vii.
Adoption of conservation agriculture by keeping the land covered with vegetation round the year. viii.
Restoration of biodiversity and forest plantation in all bare lands. ix.
Efforts to transfer earth’s mass to other planets or moon after quantifying the gravitational balance sheet of the solar system (issue to be validated and quantified by physicists or geo-physicists). x.
Agro-forestry, orchards, green plantation to be encouraged extensively. xi.
River banks to be covered with agro-forestry of shrubs and trees with high CO
2 demand. xii.
Construction of highways and railway tracks along the bank of river.
The conservation agriculture by keeping the land covered with vegetation round the year with least tillage may be an agenda to restore biodiversity and pedo-ecosystems. Selection of sitespecific crop rotation based on quantitative land evaluation as well as cover crops between two main crops may need exhaustive experience with indigenous knowledge and this may enable agricultural scientists to work with farmers together in interactive environment. Interaction of light and radiation with soils is a new chapter to be discovered in relation to scientific exploitation of soils for agriculture (Mishra et al., 2006b, Mishra et al., 2008, Mishra and Ghanshyam, 2009).
The challenges of global climate change are very alarming that integrates earth’s physical spectrum with pedogenic spectrum (earth’s mass in changing gravitational-magnetic equilibrium) as affected by chemical, EM-nuclear, biological and anthropogenic spectra in order to sustain the equilibrium of dynamic global climates (Mishra and Ghanshyam, 2009). Distorted equilibrium as caused by human interferences (man-made distortion and technologic imbalance) may lead to many catastrophic events. Agricultural interventions may mitigate the expected earth’s disturbances by adopting the conservation agriculture, banning the land shrinkage/land sealing, encouraging horticultural plantation and breeding for the perennial cereal crops.
It is a general observation that the economic growth of an individual often links with construction of houses or similar non-farming activities causing shrinkage (sealing) of agricultural land. Such
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shrinkage (sealing) is irreversible causing huge losses in grain production as well as ecological imbalance in a big way and there must be some suitable legal ban against such practice. For rehabilitation, alternative planning may be executed either in the form of construction of multistorey buildings in lands with rock outcrops and so or similar arrangement on coastal or river bank, since soil cannot be the waste so long as it is a resource. But, the situation with land shrinkage is very alarming and disastrous in most parts of India even in bringing climate changes in particular. Such non-farming business or/and activities in one hectare of agricultural land, for example, would stop the agricultural production of at least 30 quintals of food grain on an average per year and thus cause the food security of at least 20 persons at risk, since 1.5 quintal grain/capita is proposed to be the minimum food requirement for a year in most parts of India, where people are mostly vegetarian. Besides, young orchards are also being destroyed on way to sale the productive lands for construction purposes extensively in some parts of India. First author (B.B.Mishra) in a book entitled “25 Years’ Perspective Plan of Land Use Planning of
Bihar, 2000-2025” (edited by BC Choudhary, SK Chandra, SN Prasad & BB Mishra and published by Soil Survey & Land Use Planning Scheme, Sabour in 2009) made a critical first hand working plan to restore overall sustainability of soils in Bihar including climate change initiatives through soil and land.
.
1
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There is need to propose some scientific planning for developing the perennial herbaceous grains of food crops with strong photosynthetic ability that would facilitate adoption of conservation agriculture following the avoidance of land sealing (shrinkage). Such practice in agriculture would sufficiently restore the pedo-ecosystem (Fig 2). India has a network of rivers that cover large area under agriculture. Flood may often be disastrous. In order to sustain agriculture as well as maintenance of perennial rivers like Ganga, Kosi, Brahamputra, Gandak,
Ghaghra and Mahananda, a pilot trial may be undertaken to make ridges on both sides of the river banks followed by planting of agro-forestry (with high photosynthetic demand) and construction of highways and railways. The maintenance of railways, highways and agro-forestry would facilitate the maintenance of bank erosion and flood management in a big way. This arrangement would promote the restoration of the pedo-ecosystem on site-specific basis.
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By and large, the global climate change is a challenging task to be tackled not in isolation, but through integrated efforts, in which a global scientific team may be involved from all specialized sectors covering all spectra of interest. Interacting nature of soils may be further
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disclosed and established in order to monitor the changes in climate change. This surely needs upgradation of present knowledge in soil science. The upper layer of the atmosphere may be an envelope until the envelope is not disturbed by some means. Any happening in nature (physical, chemical, biological or extra-terrestrial) does not wait for tomorrow in affecting the terrestrial equilibrium system. Correction to any undesirable happening after a lapse of time can hardly be meaningful. However, through human intervention, pedogenic spectrum could be exploited positively. The challenges with global climate change are natural as well as man-made. Natural consequences may be handled by emerging scientific know-how, whereas man-made impacts are manageable with participatory commitments in a planned way on site specific basis. The past may entail the issues, while present will scrutinize the challenges and based on critically documented issues and challenges, our efforts should aim at recognizing the priorities for framing the action plan on integrated basis to look for a healthy future environment congenial to our survival and livelihood on sustainable foundation of the earth. In such endeavor, the pedologic interventions do deserve special attention in integrating all the rest spectra of relevance. There is need to develop and formulate a “pedo-ecologic zone” as a representative to a particular climate of a region in terms of its characterization, management and possible mitigation options.
Bohn, H.L., McNeal, B.L. and O’Connor, G.A. (1985) Soil Chemistry, 2 nd Ed. John Wiley &
Sons, New York, p. 15-17.
Lin, H. (2006) Clarifying misperceptions and sharpening contribution. In. The Future of Soil
Science, IUSS, The Netherlands. pp. 80-83.
Mishra, B.B. (1996) Theory of Photopedology. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci.44, 541-543.
Mishra, B.B. and Ghanshyam (2009) Are Challenges of Global Climate Change Manageable?
International Conference on combating challenges of global climate change, New Delhi,
&-8 Feb., 2009, pp. 42-44.
Mishra, B.B., Heluf, G., Sheleme, B. (2006a) Photopedogenesis: New Chapter in Soil Science.
Theatre Presentation (New Frontier), 85/457b, 18 th WCSS, 9-15 July, 2006, Philadelphia,
USA
Mishra, B.B., Heluf, G. and Sheleme, B. (2006b) Photopedogenesis: Concept and Application. J.
Food Agric. Environ. 4 , 12-14 .
Mishra, B.B., Heluf, G., and Sheleme, B. (2008) Photopedogenesis: New frontier in soil fertility evaluation. Indian Fertilizer Scene Annual 2008, pp. 97-106.
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Zepp, R.G., Callaghan, T.V. and Erickson, D.J. (2003) Interactive effects of ozone depletion and climate change on biogeochemical cycles .
Photochem Photobiol Sci.
2(1) :51-61.
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