Under our feet,?there is an unseen world?more diverse than all the tropical rainforests combined.?Teeming with microbial life and critters, large and small,?this hidden world of soil is on every single continent.?But most of us know little to nothing about this vast world under our feet.?And for most of my life,?I was no exception.

在我們腳下，?有著一個(gè)比所有熱帶雨林加起來(lái)?更多樣化的隱秘世界。?這個(gè)世界充滿了 大大小小的細(xì)菌和微生物，?土壤的隱秘世界 藏在世界的每個(gè)角落。?但是大多數(shù)人都對(duì)我們腳下的 這個(gè)廣袤世界知之甚少。?在我人生的大部分時(shí)間里，?我也是其中一員。

I grew up [a] very curious and adventurous kid.?I spent a lot of time climbing trees and falling out of them.?And I spent a lot of time getting really dirty.?In college, I had to take a class for a science requirement,?and I was shocked to discover that being really curious?and loving dirt could be a legitimate career.?So it took no convincing whatsoever for me to change my major,?and that's how I became an ecologist.

我從小就是個(gè)好奇心重、 愛(ài)冒險(xiǎn)的孩子。?我總是在爬樹，再摔下來(lái)。?我總是弄得灰頭土臉。?讀大學(xué)的時(shí)候， 我讀了一門科學(xué)必修課，?我驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)， 好奇心重、?喜歡“灰”頭“土”臉真的可以是 一份正經(jīng)工作。?所以我毫不猶豫地轉(zhuǎn)了專業(yè)，?然后成為了一名生態(tài)學(xué)家。

In graduate school, I studied how the loss of a seed disperser,?in this case, the winnow ant,?affected the plants that they disperse.?In my research site,?we were discovering that these ants were moving up in elevation?to escape a rapidly changing climate.?But they were leaving the plants they dispersed behind.?So while I came to grad school to study ants,?I all of a sudden found myself studying climate change.?And because ants nest in soils, I had to learn a lot more about soil.

讀研究生的時(shí)候， 我研究了種子傳播媒介的流失，?此處即盤腹蟻，?會(huì)對(duì)它們傳播的植物 造成什么影響。?在我的研究地點(diǎn)，?我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，這種蟻正在 提高棲息地海拔，?躲避快速變化的氣候。?但是它們拋下了本該傳播的植物。?所以我突然發(fā)現(xiàn)， 在我讀研、研究螞蟻的時(shí)候，?我其實(shí)就是在研究氣候變化。?由于螞蟻在土壤中筑巢， 我還得學(xué)習(xí)很多關(guān)于土壤的知識(shí)。

What I couldn't have predicted, as that young, curious, budding ecologist,?was that I would spend the next decade of my life?thinking about the invisible army of soil microbes?and how we can harness their awesome powers?to help address climate change.

我沒(méi)想到作為一名年輕好奇、 初露頭角的生態(tài)學(xué)家，?我竟然要把接下來(lái)十年的時(shí)間?花在研究這一大堆看不見(jiàn)的 土壤微生物上，?我們又該如何利用它們的力量?幫助解決氣候變化。

But before we get to all of that, let's start at the beginning.?Soils are considered to be the skin of the Earth.?They're only a few meters thick,?but they support all agriculture and every single terrestrial biome.?Soils help protect our food supply,?clean our water, boost our immune systems,?and they serve as a source for some critical medicines,?including many that have yet to be discovered.?Without Earth's exceedingly thin layer of soil?and its multitude of organisms,?we would not eat,?and humanity as we know it may not exist.

在談這一點(diǎn)之前， 我們還是從頭開(kāi)始吧。?土壤被認(rèn)為是地球的皮膚。?它只有幾米深，?但是支撐著所有農(nóng)業(yè)活動(dòng)， 維系著所有的陸地生物群系。?土壤保障著我們的食物供應(yīng)，?清潔我們的水系， 增強(qiáng)我們的免疫系統(tǒng)，?還是一些重要藥品的來(lái)源，?包括一些尚未被開(kāi)發(fā)的藥品。?如果沒(méi)有地球 這過(guò)于纖薄的土壤層?和它豐富的微生物群，?我們就沒(méi)有東西吃，?我們所知的人類也不會(huì)存在。

And soils, like many good things, they take time to develop.?They form over hundreds to thousands of years?as rocks break down?and plants and animals decompose.?As soils form, they accumulate and store carbon.?In fact, there are billions of tons of carbon stored underground.?Two to three times more than what we have in the atmosphere.?Plants and soil work in collaboration?to drive the single most important transformation of carbon on this planet,?photosynthesis.?Plants take carbon dioxide from the air,?and they combine it with water and sunshine to create sugars.?And of course, to grow plants.?Plants and their sugars eventually decompose in the soil,?feeding the microbes.?In fact, most of the carbon that comes in through plants?ends up in soil at some point.?The carbon cycle continues.?Microbes and their carbon eventually break down,?and the carbon from the microbes sticks to soil particles,?creating what we call soil clumps or aggregates.?Because microbial carbon is sticky.?So when that microbial carbon ends up in a clump,?it's physically protected from further decomposition.?And what we know now?is that the majority of soil carbon that is sequestered?is actually dead microbes?or what we call microbial necromass.?That necromass can stick around in soils for decades to millennia,?especially if we leave soils undisturbed.

土壤和很多好東西一樣， 需要時(shí)間發(fā)展。?形成土壤要花上幾百年幾千年，?得等到巖石分裂，?動(dòng)植物腐爛。?土壤形成時(shí)， 會(huì)積攢、儲(chǔ)存碳。?其實(shí)有幾十億噸的碳正存在地下，?比大氣中的碳多二至三倍。?植物和土壤一起?進(jìn)行著地球上最重要的 碳轉(zhuǎn)化過(guò)程——?光合作用。?植物從空氣中吸收二氧化碳，?加入水和太陽(yáng)光，生成糖類。?當(dāng)然，植物也會(huì)借此生長(zhǎng)。?植物和糖類 最終會(huì)腐爛于土壤之中，?滋養(yǎng)微生物。?其實(shí)大部分經(jīng)過(guò)植物的碳?遲早會(huì)到達(dá)土壤。?碳循環(huán)持續(xù)下去。?微生物和它們體內(nèi)的碳 最終會(huì)分解，?來(lái)自微生物的碳 與土壤粒子結(jié)合，?產(chǎn)生我們俗稱的 “土塊”或“碎石土”。?原因是微生物碳的粘性很強(qiáng)。?所以當(dāng)微生物碳 最終變成土塊形態(tài)時(shí)，?土塊就不會(huì)再次分解了。?我們現(xiàn)在知道?大部分被吸收的土壤碳?都是死去的微生物，?即“土壤微生物殘?bào)w”。?這些殘?bào)w會(huì)在土壤中 留存幾十年、幾千年，?尤其是在我們不去動(dòng) 這些土壤的情況下。

But over the last 12,000 years,?we have lost billions of tons of carbon from our soil?as humans converted grasslands and forests?into agricultural fields and range lands,?building roads and cities.?One of the major drivers of that loss was the plow,?which, at the time, was a major technological breakthrough?that really revolutionized agriculture?and altered the trajectory of human history.?With each pass of the plow,?those plant roots and soil aggregates that we know are really important?are broken apart, exposing carbon to decomposition.?Today we use more than a third of our land?to feed and clothe billions of people on this planet.?But we're losing our soils at an alarming rate,?and with it, we're losing their fertility.?Without that soil,?it's going to be a lot harder to feed?what is going to be close to 10 billion people?on this planet by 2050.?That's going to put a lot more pressure?on what is already a disappearing?and resoundingly underappreciated resource.

但是在過(guò)去的 12000 年里，?人們把草地和森林?變成農(nóng)田和牧場(chǎng)， 修路，建設(shè)城市，?導(dǎo)致了土壤中 幾十億噸碳的流失。?流失的主要原因之一是耕地，?耕地在當(dāng)時(shí)是一個(gè) 巨大的科技突破，?徹底改變了農(nóng)業(yè)，?也改變了人類歷史的軌跡。?每犁一遍地，?這些非常重要的 植物根莖和土塊?就會(huì)被鏟碎，讓碳分解。?如今，超過(guò)三分之一的土地?被用來(lái)為地球上幾十億人 提供食物和衣物。?但是我們正在以驚人的速度 喪失我們的土壤，?意味著我們正在喪失 土壤的生產(chǎn)力。?沒(méi)有土壤，?要讓 2050 年地球上的?100 億人口有東西吃，?會(huì)變得萬(wàn)分困難。?這會(huì)讓這種 已經(jīng)在逐漸消失、?明顯缺乏重視的資源 壓力倍增。

There is no machine that can bring soil back.?No technology that can do what thousands of years of rock weathering?and biological activity have achieved.?But we can build our soils and put more carbon underground?with a little help from plants and microbes.?Rebuilding soil is going to require us to fundamentally rethink our reliance?on technology and chemicals?to deliver what soils can do on their own:?support life.

沒(méi)有一臺(tái)機(jī)器可以 重新制造出土壤。?沒(méi)有一種技術(shù)可以 達(dá)到巖石風(fēng)化?和生物活動(dòng)的千年成果。?但是我們可以借助一些 植物和微生物的力量，?重建土壤，在地下再儲(chǔ)存一些碳。?重建土壤要求我們 徹底重新考量我們?對(duì)科技和化學(xué)物質(zhì)的依賴，?由此達(dá)到土壤靠自己 就能做到的事：?維持生命。

And life in soil is mostly microbial.?The Dutch scientist, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek,?saw tiny organisms he called the "wee beasties,"?under his microscope about 350 years ago.?And with the rapid innovation of molecular and computational tools,?we are finally getting a sneak peek at who they are?and how they make their way in the world.

土壤中的大部分生命都是微生物。?荷蘭科學(xué)家安東尼·范·列文虎克 （Antoni van Leeuwenhoek）?在大約 350 年前 通過(guò)顯微鏡觀察到了?一些他稱之為 “小野獸”的微小生物。?隨著分子和計(jì)算工具的飛速發(fā)展，?我們終于可以一見(jiàn)它們的真容，?它們?nèi)绾卧谑澜缋锷妗?/span>

Here's the thing.?A teaspoon of soil holds billions of organisms,?things like bacteria, fungi, protists and archaea.?These microbes are the movers and shakers?of nature's carbon cycle.?They drive really important processes in soil,?they take organic matter?and convert it into complex carbon molecules.?And having more carbon in soil is transformative.?As carbon accumulates,?agricultural fields can hold on to more water and more nutrients,?building resilience that helps them?deal with the ups and downs of a changing climate.?That resilience means plants can grow more consistently,?even when the weather is fickle.?And the awesome thing is carbon-rich soils help buffer us?against what is an uncertain climate future.?The trick is to really rethink how we do agriculture.

是這樣的。?一小勺土壤包含了 幾十億個(gè)有機(jī)體，?比如細(xì)菌、真菌、 原生生物和古生菌。?這些微生物左右著?自然界的碳循環(huán)。?它們會(huì)促進(jìn)土壤中的重要進(jìn)程，?將有機(jī)物質(zhì)?轉(zhuǎn)化為復(fù)合碳分子。?土壤保有更多的碳 會(huì)帶來(lái)巨大改變。?隨著碳的累積，?農(nóng)田可以容納 更多的水和營(yíng)養(yǎng)，?幫助農(nóng)田建立應(yīng)對(duì) 氣候變化的抗風(fēng)險(xiǎn)能力。?這種抗風(fēng)險(xiǎn)能力意味著 即使是在變化無(wú)常的天氣條件下，?植物也可以不受影響地生長(zhǎng)。?很棒的一點(diǎn)是 碳含量高的土壤?可以給我們應(yīng)對(duì)未來(lái) 未知的氣候提供緩沖。?訣竅就在于重新考慮 農(nóng)耕的方式。

So there is the good news,

which is there are some tried and true ways

that we can get more carbon in our soils and build our soils back.?We can plow less,?and we can make sure that we have roots in the ground year round,?feeding the microbes?and powering that microbial engine humming under our feet.?And we can do this.

有個(gè)好消息，?我們確實(shí)嘗試過(guò)一些方式?將更多的碳送入土壤， 重建土壤。?我們可以少耕田，?確保全年地里都有植物根莖，?讓微生物有東西吃，?發(fā)動(dòng)我們腳下的 這臺(tái)微生物“機(jī)器”。?我們能做到。

The other thing is,?diversity is the key ingredient in this recipe.?Diverse plant communities support diverse microbial communities?that can transform and store more carbon.?Diversity is good for soils,?and it's good for climate mitigation.?Just like we need every microbe,?we need every farmer and rancher,?every climate solution and every solver.

另外關(guān)鍵的一點(diǎn)是多樣性。?多樣的植物種群支撐著 多樣的微生物種群，?它們可以轉(zhuǎn)化碳、儲(chǔ)存碳。?多樣性對(duì)土壤很有益，?對(duì)緩解氣候問(wèn)題也很有益。?就如同我們需要每一種微生物，?我們也需要每一位農(nóng)民、 每一位牧場(chǎng)主、?每一個(gè)氣候解決方案 和每一位問(wèn)題解決者。

So ...?Healthy, carbon-rich soils matter today more than ever.?The other great thing about carbon-rich soils?is they help farmers have more consistent agricultural operations?and more sustainable ones?that can withstand the ups and downs of a changing climate.?That's a huge win for the people that grow our food,?it’s a win for climate, and it’s a win for us consumers.?So how do we do it?

所以……?富含碳的健康土壤 對(duì)我們的當(dāng)下至關(guān)重要。?碳含量高的土壤還有一個(gè)好處，?它可以讓農(nóng)民的農(nóng)業(yè)操作更一致、?更可持續(xù)，?能夠適應(yīng)氣候變化 帶來(lái)的劇烈影響。?對(duì)于為我們種植食物的人來(lái)說(shuō)， 這可是件大好事，?對(duì)于氣候、消費(fèi)者來(lái)說(shuō) 都是大好事。?我們?cè)撛趺醋瞿兀?/span>

Well, there are three simple things we can do.?Number one, we have to protect our soils and the carbon they already hold.?Number two, we can get more carbon underground?by growing diverse, climate-adapted crops.?And number three, we can let the microbes do their thing.?Leave them alone by leaving the soil undisturbed.?It sounds simple, and that's because it kind of is.?But there are some questions that are left to be answered,?and there's a lot of room for us to innovate.?We need to track and measure our climate progress.?We need to develop more climate-resilient crop varieties?that can grow deeper roots?and pump carbon underground deeper.?And we need to rethink our economic models and agriculture?and help support and incentivize?these carbon-sequestering agricultural practices.?So lots of room for innovation, lots of room for research.?Good news for us scientists.

我們能做的有三件事。?第一，我們必須保護(hù) 我們的土壤和其中的碳。?第二，我們可以通過(guò)種植?更多樣、更耐氣候變化的作物， 將更多的碳送入地下。?第三，我們得讓微生物 自由發(fā)揮。?不要去動(dòng)土壤， 讓微生物做該做的事。?聽(tīng)起來(lái)很簡(jiǎn)單， 確實(shí)也不難。?但還是有一些未被回答的問(wèn)題?和一些創(chuàng)新的空間。?我們得追蹤、衡量 氣候變化進(jìn)程。?我們得研發(fā)出更適應(yīng)氣候變化的 作物品種，?根莖更長(zhǎng)，?將碳送入更深的地底。?我們得重新調(diào)整 我們的經(jīng)濟(jì)模式和農(nóng)業(yè)，?支持、鼓勵(lì)?農(nóng)業(yè)碳匯行為。?很多創(chuàng)新的空間， 很多研究的空間。?對(duì)科學(xué)家來(lái)說(shuō)是個(gè)好消息。

But we don't have time to waste.?Climate change is here and it's affecting all of us, whether we know it or not.?It's affecting every single ecosystem, including agriculture.?Soils are the literal foundation of life on this planet,?the reason that we can eat?and the climate solution just waiting to be unlocked.?So let's build back our soils,?help our planet by looking down to the ground.

但是我們不能再浪費(fèi)時(shí)間了。?無(wú)論我們是否意識(shí)到了，氣候變化 迫在眉睫，影響著我們每一個(gè)人。?影響著每一個(gè)生態(tài)系統(tǒng)， 包括農(nóng)業(yè)。?土壤是地球生命的堅(jiān)實(shí)基礎(chǔ)，?是我們食物的來(lái)源，?也是靜待我們啟用的 氣候解決方案。?讓我們重建土壤，?腳踏“實(shí)地”拯救我們的地球。

Thank you.

謝謝。