We are facing a climate crisis like never seen before, entire ecosystems are being wiped out, extreme weather events and climate related hazards are becoming more frequent and billions of people around the world are suffering from hunger and food insecurity. If we don't change our ways of production and consumption, we will soon reach a point of no return.

Agriculture alone is responsible for 10% to 12% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year. Soil sustainable management is essential to reduce these emissions, given that a healthy soil function as a carbon sink capable of storing more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined.

Soil biodiversity is essential for most of the ecosystem services provided by soil, which benefit soil health, nutrition and food production, human health and climate change adaption and mitigation. Therefore, soil biodiversity is essential in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture.

More than 40% of all terrestrial life is associated with soil in at least part of their life cycle, which makes the soil one of the main global reservoirs of biodiversity. However, this biodiversity is often out of sight and out of mind. It’s estimated that only 1% of soil microorganism species is currently known.

Agricultural intensification and the excessive use of saline potassium fertilizers has threatened the survival of soil organisms. Use of fertilizers, such as potassium chloride (KCl) leads to high concentrations of chloride (Clˉ) in the soil. This ion is known to have biocidal effects interrupting the vital functions of organisms, leading to a reduction in soil biodiversity. When it comes to its biocidal effect, using 1 kg of KCl is the equivalent of applying 8 liters of Clorox® bleach in the soil.

The recent FAO report State of Knowledge of Soil Biodiversity highlights the importance of soil biodiversity in fighting climate change, “The role of soil biodiversity in addressing global climate change cannot be understated: the soil community’s activities can contribute either to the emission of greenhouse gases or to absorbing carbon into soils from the atmosphere.”

You can find out more about our movement at chloridefree.org