Photosynthesis & Liquid Carbon

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Most people understand the simple concept of Photosynthesis. Plants take CO2 out of the atmosphere and, with the help of the sun, turn it into plants and trees and roots and really everything we see in the living world. So, photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight.

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. There are over 4 million organic compounds with more than 100,000 new compounds being produced every year (manmade and natural). Organic compounds such as fatty acid are essential food resources for microbiology in the soil and on the plant surfaces. They can be used to promote soil and plant health.

Through photosynthesis plants also gather and deliver nutrients to the soil in exchange for the nutrients they need to grow. This is only the beginning of an amazing and complex relationship that creates the world we know.

The plant builds carbon in the soil through photosynthesis. This happens in two specific ways:

  • The plant turns carbon dioxide into carbon in the plant and its roots.

  • The plant sends carbon straight to the soil through liquid exudate to feed soil organisms.

Carbon Building in the Soil

  • CO2 is taken in by plants and through photosynthesis turned into carbon.

  • The carbon is held in the plant trunk, branches, leaves, flowers and roots.

  • As the plant and roots die, they become food for microorganisms.

  • The microbes turn the carbon into soil and, eventually, humus.

Liquid Carbon Process

Nature uses these four processes to turn Co2 into liquid exudates for microbes and plants:

Photosynthesis

The conversion of Co2 to Carbon.

Resynthesis

This is the process whereby the sugars from photosynthesis are then converted or ‘resynthesized’ into a wide variety of carbon compounds, including proteins, organic acids, waxes, and oils.

Exudation

This is where the carbon compounds are delivered into the soil.

Humification

This is where microorganisms convert the compounds to humus.

What is Humus?

  • Organic matter that has reached a point of stability, where it will break down no further and might, if conditions do not change, remain as it is for centuries.

  • Humus significantly influences the bulk density of soil and contributes to moisture and nutrient retention.

  • The formation of humus begins when the residues from plants and animals come in contact with microbial life in the soil.

  • Carbon compounds contained in those residues are proteins, fatty acids, carbohydrates and energy for the various bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes involved in the decay process.

  • Humus helps the soil to hold water, provides nutrients, and keeps the soil from getting compacted.

  • Humus it is a highly complex substance, which is still not fully understood.

The Biological Engine

Although it is the sun driving this system it is the plants and seeds that are in charge. The plant, through its relationship with the soil and atmosphere and the help of the trillions of microbes that surround it, are what fire up the biological engine. 

If you want a dynamic and functioning ecosystem you have to embrace and manage the plant-soil-atmosphere relationship, understanding this simple relationship should be the basis of everything you do on the farm.

More to come on the Plant – Soil – Atmosphere relationship… stay tuned.