ERP researchers have discovered that non-invasive seismology using ultra-high-frequency soundwaves recorded with geophones (similar to what’s used for finding deep fossil fuel deposits) can provide a fine-grained and highly detailed map of living soil, mapping differences in density and composition, shifts in moisture, and even revealing the extent of microbial life. They’re hoping to scale up this “soilsmology” to develop an AI app providing custom soil data and advice for small-scale farmers!
“Anyone who’s ever dug a soil pit knows how hard it is to understand what’s happening below the surface. The Earth Rover Project team found a way to read that hidden world without tearing it apart, and that opens possibilities we simply haven’t had before. The Earth Fund backed this work because better soil knowledge strengthens everything we care about in climate and nature. What’s emerging now is a practical way for farmers and scientists to see their soils clearly and act with confidence.”
— Dr. Andy Jarvis, Director of Future of Food at the Bezos Earth Fund.
Early tests are highly promising. The UK has one of the world’s most detailed national soil maps, built over decades, but even that gold-standard work only creates a 5 kilometer by 5 kilometer grid, which isn’t enough to reveal the specific soil traits of an individual field that could determine which farming interventions are required to raise productivity. The ERP has already found that their seismology technique reveals extensive brand-new soil data even in well-studied sites in the UK.
“Where I am at Harper Adams [an agricultural university in Shropshire], the soil map says there are only three types of soil and no peat, but actually we have found 18 types and quite a lot of peat with this technique.”
— Professor Simon Jeffery, ERP soil ecologist.
Around the world, in a status quo where a few decades-old samples are often used to characterize whole regions, “soilsmology” could absolutely revolutionize farmers’ understanding of the soil in their own fields. Finding areas of subsoil compaction could warn of flood risk. Determining soil composition could reveal when adding a little organic matter like biochar might turbocharge a field’s productivity. Farming techniques could be customized to the landscape with fast-updating data, instead of held back by a one-size-fits-all approach. The possibilities are extraordinary!
Congress is still considering the next Farm Bill, a huge investment in American agriculture (the U.S. spends an average of $648 billion per year on Farm Bill programs) that’s up for renewal for the first time since 2018. Soil seismology is a brand-new innovation that isn’t really on the political radar screen yet. That means there’s a really great opportunity here for Congress to use the Farm Bill to help promote its deployment across America with supportive tax and regulatory incentives!
Please support soil seismology (“soilsmology”) in the next Farm Bill!