Introduction
This vision describes a technology designed to improve food security and help manage climate change by taking carbon from the atmosphere and embedding it into soil. The system saves large amounts of water because soil is kept moist rather than wet, which minimises losses through evaporation and deep drainage. It also addresses a fundamental weakness in many carbon solutions: although plants absorb vast amounts of carbon, most of that carbon quickly returns to the atmosphere through decay. The aim here is to divert that returning carbon stream into soil-building biology, regenerating topsoil, improving food production, and reducing atmospheric carbon at the same time.
Why Soil Degradation Is a Critical Problem
Across the world, soil is being degraded by excessive tillage and by fertilisers that damage soil biology. Soil structure is not created by minerals alone; it is built by living organisms. When soil biology is destroyed, soil loses its internal structure, becomes compacted, sheds water instead of absorbing it, and is easily lost to wind and floods. Historical examples show how chemicals such as ammonium nitrate were used to deliberately destroy soil structure to create hard surfaces, demonstrating that killing soil biology removes the “engineering” that holds soil together. Loss of topsoil reduces food security and increases vulnerability to both drought and flooding, making soil degradation one of the greatest long-term threats to humanity.
Carbon, Plants, and Nutrient Cycling
Plants are largely built from carbon captured from the atmosphere, and the scale is immense. Globally, plants extract many times more carbon than total human emissions. Through photosynthesis, plants convert carbon dioxide into complex organic compounds that power life and provide food. However, plants also require a wide range of nutrients from soil, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and numerous trace elements. These nutrients are usually present in soil but often locked in insoluble forms.
The key partnership is between plants and soil biology. Plants supply carbon and energy, while soil organisms convert insoluble minerals into forms plants can absorb. When soil biology is damaged by tillage and soluble fertilisers, nutrient cycling breaks down. Short-term yields may be maintained by adding more fertiliser, but long-term soil function declines, and nutrients are increasingly lost to waterways and groundwater.
Linking Soil Repair and Climate Change
Soil and water are inseparable. Good soil holds water, makes it available to plants, and buffers against extremes. Poor soil sheds water during floods and dries rapidly during drought. Solutions to soil degradation and water scarcity are therefore linked. The central claim of this vision is that solutions to topsoil destruction and climate change can be addressed together by redirecting carbon into regenerating soil instead of allowing it to return to the atmosphere.
Regenerating Topsoil in Years, Not Centuries
Natural topsoil formation is slow and can take hundreds of years. Once topsoil is lost, waiting for natural processes is not an option. The report argues that rapid soil regeneration is possible if the right conditions are created. Soil is generated by microbiological activity acting on organic material, producing an open, sponge-like structure held together by fungal networks. This structure stores water and nutrients while remaining aerated.
Four essentials are required. First, something must be growing to capture carbon and energy. Second, soil biology must be present; if it is missing, it must be introduced. Third, that biology must be fed with organic material. Fourth, moisture must be maintained at the right level. Too little moisture stops biological activity; too much creates anaerobic conditions and foul, stagnant soil rather than healthy topsoil.
Plants as Tools for Soil Repair
Almost any plant can contribute to soil regeneration, but badly degraded soils often require pioneer species that tolerate poor conditions. These plants are frequently dismissed as weeds, yet their rapid growth and deep roots make them valuable tools. Many pioneers are legumes that fix nitrogen and access nutrients deep in the soil. As soil improves, these species are naturally replaced by more demanding crops and plants.
The Role of Soil Biology
Healthy soil contains vast numbers of organisms, but two groups are especially important: fungi and worms. Mycorrhizal fungi form symbiotic relationships with plant roots, exchanging nutrients for sugars. Their fine hyphae extend far beyond root systems and can extract minerals that roots cannot reach. Fungal networks also bind soil particles into stable aggregates that resist erosion.
Worms complement fungi by creating channels for air and water and by spreading fungal spores through soil. In severely degraded soils, biology can be reintroduced using inoculants that contain fungi, bacteria, and worm eggs. However, inoculants are useless unless moisture and organic food are already present.
Feeding the Soil Community
Soil organisms must be fed. Organic materials drive a continuous cycle in which organisms grow, die, and release nutrients back to plants. Bacteria rapidly consume soft materials and release carbon dioxide, while fungi break down tougher materials such as lignin and even attack mineral surfaces. Fungi release less carbon dioxide and store more carbon in long-lived structures, but they require protection from drying and direct sunlight.
Organic inputs can come from crop residues, purpose-grown “soil trees,” agricultural by-products, and urban green waste. For large-scale impact, cities become an important source of organic material. Growing vegetation to produce organic matter and then embedding that material into soil is more effective for long-term carbon storage than simply locking carbon into timber.
Fire, Fuel Loads, and Carbon Loss
Climate change is intensifying flood–drought cycles and increasing bushfire risk. Fires release large amounts of carbon back into the atmosphere. Traditional hazard reduction burning reduces fuel loads but also emits carbon and carries risks. The report proposes mechanical reduction of fuel loads using mulchers, then using the resulting organic material to regenerate soil. This converts a fire hazard into a soil-building resource and diverts carbon away from the atmosphere.
Sewage and Wastewater as Inputs
Large volumes of nutrients and water are currently wasted through sewage disposal. Direct use for food production raises valid health concerns, but the report proposes using sewage and wastewater to grow vegetation for soil regeneration. By separating waste processing from food production, nutrients and water can be safely recycled into soil-building systems.
Water as the Limiting Factor
Of all inputs required for soil regeneration, water is the most limiting. The problem is not total availability but timing and location. Agriculture uses more water than any other sector, yet much of it is wasted on poor soils. Improving soil structure dramatically increases water-use efficiency, allowing more production with less water.
Why Conventional Irrigation Fails
Flood irrigation, still widely used, is inherently inefficient. Water is lost to deep drainage, evaporation, and uneven application. Drip irrigation improves efficiency but requires careful management and costly infrastructure. In both cases, irrigation tends to swing soil between saturation and dryness, which is poor for soil biology.
Moisture, Not Saturation
Soil biology thrives under constant moisture, not periodic flooding. Forest ecosystems illustrate this principle, maintaining moist conditions that support continuous biological activity. Wicking systems aim to replicate this by maintaining soil moisture without saturating it, creating ideal conditions for fungi and other organisms.
What a Wicking Bed Does
A wicking bed consists of an underground water reservoir that supplies moisture upward through capillary action. Roots grow in moist soil above the water, not in standing water. This minimises evaporation and deep drainage losses and allows precise control of moisture levels.
From Small Boxes to Large Beds
Early experiments used small wicking boxes to test soil mixes, organic inputs, and water levels. These boxes proved cheap, effective, and popular for patios and small spaces. Many users report improved food quality compared with supermarket produce, which is often grown using high chemical inputs.
Larger above-ground beds were developed for gardens and farms. These beds reduce bending, resist flooding, and allow precise water control. Beds must be level and correctly designed to ensure effective wicking; overwatering is a common mistake when old irrigation habits persist.
Scaling Up for Agriculture
While urban wicking beds contribute to food resilience, they are not sufficient on their own. Large-scale agriculture requires in-ground or raised-bed systems that can handle both drought and flooding. Flood events in Queensland highlighted the need for designs that cope with prolonged saturation, leading to raised-bed systems that lift crops above waterlogged soil.
Design Evolution
Wicking systems have evolved through several generations, from simple pipe-fed beds to designs that minimise piping and aim for automation. Raised beds use shallow excavations, liners, organic layers, and replaced soil to improve drainage and resilience. Future systems aim to reduce cost and labour through mechanisation.
Adapting Slopes and Furrows
Many orchards and farms use furrow irrigation on sloping land. The report describes adapting wicking principles to these systems by creating individual reservoirs for trees and preventing water loss between rows. This approach could retrofit millions of kilometres of existing furrows, dramatically improving water efficiency.
Infrastructure and Cost
Traditional irrigation relies on large open channels that require high flow rates. Wicking systems need only low, continuous flows, allowing replacement with smaller, cheaper pipes. Automation and specialised equipment can further reduce costs, making adoption more feasible for farmers.
Carbon Capture as an Economic Driver
Paying for soil regeneration through carbon capture provides a second pathway to adoption. Plants already capture carbon; embedding that carbon into soil turns a natural process into a climate solution. Developing simple, scalable accounting methods is essential for global uptake.
The Broader Vision
The long-term vision is to use a simple, proven technology to improve food security, reduce water use, and manage climate change. Poor farmers could be paid to capture carbon on behalf of wealthy polluters, improving livelihoods while addressing global problems.
Achieving this vision requires political acceptance, farmer training, technology maturation, and service companies to supply materials and expertise. Initial steps have already been taken, including international test sites.
Download ‘Vision for Food Security, Water Shortages, and Climate Change’ (full PDF)
