Climate change is driving a tougher flood-and-drought cycle, and the normal tools are not reducing atmospheric carbon fast enough. This invitation outlines a practical research proposal: modify agriculture so it can absorb around 10 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon each year while also improving food reliability. The approach focuses on controlled decomposition of imported organic material in a subsurface reservoir, using mycorrhizal fungi to embed more carbon into soil, supported by wicking bed technology.
Purpose Of This Invitation
This document is an invitation to research organisations that may wish to join an international consortium. The goal is to develop and validate an agricultural system that can do two important jobs at the same time: increase resilience to the stronger flood-and-drought cycle expected with climate change, and absorb large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere.
The central proposition is ambitious but measurable: climate change could be resolved by modifying the global agricultural system so it absorbs about 10 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon annually. The technology described here has been under development for roughly thirty-five years, and the proposed consortium would produce the kind of rigorous, internationally credible evidence needed for wider adoption.
The Core Carbon Problem
One of the most important starting points is that plants already absorb a very large quantity of carbon. In fact, vegetation is absorbing roughly thirty times man-made emissions. The issue is that a similarly large amount returns to the atmosphere through oxidation and decomposition of organic waste. In this framing, decomposing vegetation is presented as the single largest source of atmospheric carbon.
The proposed solution is to divert a small fraction of that existing carbon flow. If around 3% of the carbon that would normally return to the atmosphere during decomposition can be redirected and embedded into agricultural soils, the scale becomes large enough to materially change the carbon balance.
Why Small Improvements Are Not Enough
Many techniques can increase soil carbon as a secondary benefit, and no-till farming is a common example. The argument in this document is that, while valuable, the amount of carbon captured by these incremental approaches is not enough to offset climate change at the scale required. The consortium proposal therefore targets a system designed specifically to harvest the large carbon quantities needed, rather than treating carbon capture as a side effect.
This viewpoint is strongly shaped by the observed outcomes of global efforts so far. The document states that we are losing the carbon battle: emissions continue to rise year after year, and political division between developing and developed countries suggests this will continue. Even with promising green technologies, the short-term challenge remains: how do we reduce atmospheric carbon in a way that is practical, scalable, and politically adoptable?
A System Built Around A Subsurface Reservoir
The heart of the proposed agricultural system is a subsurface water reservoir. The reservoir is designed to increase productivity by allowing nutrient-rich water to wick upward into the root zone. This is a deliberate design choice: it improves water and nutrient efficiency while also creating stable moisture conditions that support the targeted soil biology.
The reservoir is filled with organic material that decomposes under high humidity. The key biological proposition is that decomposition is driven primarily by mycorrhizal fungal action rather than conventional aerobic bacterial decomposition. The document’s core assumption is that mycorrhizal fungi will embed larger quantities of carbon into soil than standard aerobic bacterial breakdown. Practical experience is cited as supporting this assumption, but the next step is to measure and confirm the amount of carbon embedded to validate carbon capture predictions.
Measuring Carbon Capture As A First Research Step
A stated priority for the first phase is measurement: quantifying how much carbon is embedded into the soil and confirming the predicted potential carbon capture. Without reliable measurement, adoption stalls because policy makers, negotiators, and carbon markets cannot compare claims, set incentives, or track results over time.
This emphasis on measurement is also strategic. The document argues that the problem is as much political as technical. If the consortium can generate hard scientific evidence from internationally respected organisations, that evidence can be used to advocate for a solution at the United Nations level and help support an international agreement that includes both developed and developing nations.
A Two-Stage Process: Harvesting And Embedding
The proposed approach differs from conventional carbon farming because it is designed around a two-stage process. First, organic material is harvested or collected, often as “waste.” Second, that organic material is transported to “embedding” land, where decomposition occurs under controlled conditions intended to favour mycorrhizal action and long-term carbon retention in soil.
The essence of the approach is not to rely on minor on-farm adjustments alone, but to move significant volumes of organic material to the location where it can be embedded effectively. This logistical element is treated as central to reaching “tens of billions of tonnes” scale.
Sources Of Organic Material
Several sources of organic material are proposed. Low productivity land could be used to grow fast-growing trees, which can be pruned or coppiced to provide biomass. Forest and urban organic waste are also highlighted as major potential supplies. In addition, some farm systems already produce substantial organic residues, with examples including sugar cane, bananas, and fruit trees.
The consortium concept is to channel these materials into the embedding system. Rather than allowing organic waste to decompose in ways that return most carbon quickly to the atmosphere, the proposal aims to decompose under conditions that support soil carbon retention.
Embedding Land And Microbiology Management
The embedding land is described as typically existing cropping land. In this land, microbiology is intentionally modified so that bacterial decomposition is largely replaced by mycorrhizal fungi. The pathway described includes initial inoculation and then maintaining moisture and oxygen levels so the desired fungal activity can persist.
Wicking bed technology is positioned as the enabling platform for managing moisture and oxygen in a practical way. The goal is to create reliable conditions for decomposition that favour carbon embedding rather than rapid loss back to the atmosphere.
Scale And Land Area Requirements
The document provides an indicative scale calculation. Capturing ten billion tonnes of carbon would require about two million square kilometres of land for harvesting and about one million square kilometres for embedding. This total is presented as fully practical, representing roughly 5% of agricultural land.
The proposal also notes that this land area is available in rapidly developing countries, and it suggests that if China adopts the technology, other developing countries would likely follow, enabling faster international adoption.
Secondary Benefits For Farmers And Food Systems
Beyond carbon capture, the proposal emphasises secondary benefits that matter to farmers and governments. These include increased food productivity and reliability, improved water and nutrient efficiency, and an additional income stream for farmers. The additional income stream is presented as a potential way to reduce conflict between developed and developing nations, because it aligns climate action with economic benefit.
The document also makes a clear point: research alone is not enough. Policy settings are needed so that irrigators and growers can adopt better water use practices while protecting environmental flows. In this proposal, large-scale soil carbon capture is linked to broader improvements in agricultural performance and resilience.
Carbon Trading And The Need For Simple Verification
A critical implementation step identified is developing a simple method of quantifying absorbed carbon so it can support carbon trading. The technology is described as viable, but large-scale results are expected only if there is an international agreement on carbon trading, with methods that are credible and useable.
In this framing, carbon capture is not only a technical achievement. It becomes a measurable service that can be rewarded, scaled, and adopted through practical incentives. That requires evidence, methods, and cooperation between research bodies, policy makers, and negotiators.
Existing Interest And Invitation To Participate
The Farmland Irrigated Research Institute in XinXiang (China), Beijing Agricultural University, and the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) are named as organisations that have expressed interest in participating.
If your institute has an interest in becoming part of this project, the author invites you to make contact. Because the consortium needs to be international, this invitation was sent to institutes known to have an interest in soil carbon and climate change. If you know other institutes that may be interested, you are invited to forward the invitation or provide recommendations.
Colin Austin — © Creative Commons. Reproduction permitted for private use with source acknowledgment; commercial use requires a license.
