The Hidden Wonders of Soil | Jane Zelikova | TED

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: Grace Man

Under our feet,

在我们脚下，

there is an unseen world

有着一个比所有热带雨林加起来

more diverse than all the tropical rainforests combined.

更多样化的隐秘世界。

Teeming with microbial life and critters, large and small,

这个世界充满了 大大小小的细菌和微生物，

this hidden world of soil is on every single continent.

土壤的隐秘世界 藏在世界的每个角落。

But most of us know little to nothing about this vast world under our feet.

但是大多数人都对我们脚下的 这个广袤世界知之甚少。

And for most of my life,

在我人生的大部分时间里，

I was no exception.

我也是其中一员。

I grew up [a] very curious and adventurous kid.

我从小就是个好奇心重、 爱冒险的孩子。

I spent a lot of time climbing trees and falling out of them.

我总是在爬树，再摔下来。

And I spent a lot of time getting really dirty.

我总是弄得灰头土脸。

In college, I had to take a class for a science requirement,

读大学的时候， 我读了一门科学必修课，

and I was shocked to discover that being really curious

我惊讶地发现， 好奇心重、

and loving dirt could be a legitimate career.

喜欢“灰”头“土”脸真的可以是 一份正经工作。

So it took no convincing whatsoever for me to change my major,

所以我毫不犹豫地转了专业，

and that's how I became an ecologist.

然后成为了一名生态学家。

In graduate school, I studied how the loss of a seed disperser,

读研究生的时候， 我研究了种子传播媒介的流失，

in this case, the winnow ant,

此处即盘腹蚁，

affected the plants that they disperse.

会对它们传播的植物 造成什么影响。

In my research site,

在我的研究地点，

we were discovering that these ants were moving up in elevation

我们发现，这种蚁正在 提高栖息地海拔，

to escape a rapidly changing climate.

躲避快速变化的气候。

But they were leaving the plants they dispersed behind.

但是它们抛下了本该传播的植物。

So while I came to grad school to study ants,

所以我突然发现， 在我读研、研究蚂蚁的时候，

I all of a sudden found myself studying climate change.

我其实就是在研究气候变化。

And because ants nest in soils, I had to learn a lot more about soil.

由于蚂蚁在土壤中筑巢， 我还得学习很多关于土壤的知识。

What I couldn't have predicted, as that young, curious, budding ecologist,

我没想到作为一名年轻好奇、 初露头角的生态学家，

was that I would spend the next decade of my life

我竟然要把接下来十年的时间

thinking about the invisible army of soil microbes

花在研究这一大堆看不见的 土壤微生物上，

and how we can harness their awesome powers

我们又该如何利用它们的力量

to help address climate change.

帮助解决气候变化。

But before we get to all of that, let's start at the beginning.

在谈这一点之前， 我们还是从头开始吧。

Soils are considered to be the skin of the Earth.

土壤被认为是地球的皮肤。

They're only a few meters thick,

它只有几米深，

but they support all agriculture and every single terrestrial biome.

但是支撑着所有农业活动， 维系着所有的陆地生物群系。

Soils help protect our food supply,

土壤保障着我们的食物供应，

clean our water, boost our immune systems,

清洁我们的水系， 增强我们的免疫系统，

and they serve as a source for some critical medicines,

还是一些重要药品的来源，

including many that have yet to be discovered.

包括一些尚未被开发的药品。

Without Earth's exceedingly thin layer of soil

如果没有地球 这过于纤薄的土壤层

and its multitude of organisms,

和它丰富的微生物群，

we would not eat,

我们就没有东西吃，

and humanity as we know it may not exist.

我们所知的人类也不会存在。

And soils, like many good things, they take time to develop.

土壤和很多好东西一样， 需要时间发展。

They form over hundreds to thousands of years

形成土壤要花上几百年几千年，

as rocks break down

得等到岩石分裂，

and plants and animals decompose.

动植物腐烂。

As soils form, they accumulate and store carbon.

土壤形成时， 会积攒、储存碳。

In fact, there are billions of tons of carbon stored underground.

其实有几十亿吨的碳正存在地下，

Two to three times more than what we have in the atmosphere.

比大气中的碳多二至三倍。

Plants and soil work in collaboration

植物和土壤一起

to drive the single most important transformation of carbon on this planet,

进行着地球上最重要的 碳转化过程——

photosynthesis.

光合作用。

Plants take carbon dioxide from the air,

植物从空气中吸收二氧化碳，

and they combine it with water and sunshine to create sugars.

加入水和太阳光，生成糖类。

And of course, to grow plants.

当然，植物也会借此生长。

Plants and their sugars eventually decompose in the soil,

植物和糖类 最终会腐烂于土壤之中，

feeding the microbes.

滋养微生物。

In fact, most of the carbon that comes in through plants

其实大部分经过植物的碳

ends up in soil at some point.

迟早会到达土壤。

The carbon cycle continues.

碳循环持续下去。

Microbes and their carbon eventually break down,

微生物和它们体内的碳 最终会分解，

and the carbon from the microbes sticks to soil particles,

来自微生物的碳 与土壤粒子结合，

creating what we call soil clumps or aggregates.

产生我们俗称的 “土块”或“碎石土”。

Because microbial carbon is sticky.

原因是微生物碳的粘性很强。

So when that microbial carbon ends up in a clump,

所以当微生物碳 最终变成土块形态时，

it's physically protected from further decomposition.

土块就不会再次分解了。

And what we know now

我们现在知道

is that the majority of soil carbon that is sequestered

大部分被吸收的土壤碳

is actually dead microbes

都是死去的微生物，

or what we call microbial necromass.

即“土壤微生物残体”。

That necromass can stick around in soils for decades to millennia,

这些残体会在土壤中 留存几十年、几千年，

especially if we leave soils undisturbed.

尤其是在我们不去动 这些土壤的情况下。

But over the last 12,000 years,

但是在过去的 12000 年里，

we have lost billions of tons of carbon from our soil

人们把草地和森林

变成农田和牧场， 修路，建设城市，

as humans converted grasslands and forests

导致了土壤中 几十亿吨碳的流失。

into agricultural fields and range lands,

building roads and cities.

One of the major drivers of that loss was the plow,

流失的主要原因之一是耕地，

which, at the time, was a major technological breakthrough

耕地在当时是一个 巨大的科技突破，

that really revolutionized agriculture

彻底改变了农业，

and altered the trajectory of human history.

也改变了人类历史的轨迹。

With each pass of the plow,

每犁一遍地，

those plant roots and soil aggregates that we know are really important

这些非常重要的 植物根茎和土块

are broken apart, exposing carbon to decomposition.

就会被铲碎，让碳分解。

Today we use more than a third of our land

如今，超过三分之一的土地

to feed and clothe billions of people on this planet.

被用来为地球上几十亿人 提供食物和衣物。

But we're losing our soils at an alarming rate,

但是我们正在以惊人的速度 丧失我们的土壤，

and with it, we're losing their fertility.

意味着我们正在丧失 土壤的生产力。

Without that soil,

没有土壤，

it's going to be a lot harder to feed

要让 2050 年地球上的

what is going to be close to 10 billion people

100 亿人口有东西吃，

on this planet by 2050.

会变得万分困难。

That's going to put a lot more pressure

这会让这种 已经在逐渐消失、

on what is already a disappearing

and resoundingly underappreciated resource.

明显缺乏重视的资源 压力倍增。

There is no machine that can bring soil back.

没有一台机器可以 重新制造出土壤。

No technology that can do what thousands of years of rock weathering

没有一种技术可以 达到岩石风化

and biological activity have achieved.

和生物活动的千年成果。

But we can build our soils and put more carbon underground

但是我们可以借助一些 植物和微生物的力量，

with a little help from plants and microbes.

重建土壤，在地下再储存一些碳。

Rebuilding soil is going to require us to fundamentally rethink our reliance

重建土壤要求我们 彻底重新考量我们

on technology and chemicals

对科技和化学物质的依赖，

to deliver what soils can do on their own:

由此达到土壤靠自己 就能做到的事：

support life.

维持生命。

And life in soil is mostly microbial.

土壤中的大部分生命都是微生物。

The Dutch scientist, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek,

荷兰科学家安东尼·范·列文虎克 （Antoni van Leeuwenhoek）

saw tiny organisms he called the "wee beasties,"

在大约 350 年前 通过显微镜观察到了

under his microscope about 350 years ago.

一些他称之为 “小野兽”的微小生物。

And with the rapid innovation of molecular and computational tools,

随着分子和计算工具的飞速发展，

we are finally getting a sneak peek at who they are

我们终于可以一见它们的真容，

and how they make their way in the world.

它们如何在世界里生存。

Here's the thing.

是这样的。

A teaspoon of soil holds billions of organisms,

一小勺土壤包含了 几十亿个有机体，

things like bacteria, fungi, protists and archaea.

比如细菌、真菌、 原生生物和古生菌。

These microbes are the movers and shakers

这些微生物左右着

of nature's carbon cycle.

自然界的碳循环。

They drive really important processes in soil,

它们会促进土壤中的重要进程，

they take organic matter

将有机物质

and convert it into complex carbon molecules.

转化为复合碳分子。

And having more carbon in soil is transformative.

土壤保有更多的碳 会带来巨大改变。

As carbon accumulates,

随着碳的累积，

agricultural fields can hold on to more water and more nutrients,

农田可以容纳 更多的水和营养，

building resilience that helps them

帮助农田建立应对 气候变化的抗风险能力。

deal with the ups and downs of a changing climate.

That resilience means plants can grow more consistently,

这种抗风险能力意味着 即使是在变化无常的天气条件下，

even when the weather is fickle.

植物也可以不受影响地生长。

And the awesome thing is carbon-rich soils help buffer us

很棒的一点是 碳含量高的土壤

against what is an uncertain climate future.

可以给我们应对未来 未知的气候提供缓冲。

The trick is to really rethink how we do agriculture.

诀窍就在于重新考虑 农耕的方式。

So there is the good news,

有个好消息，

which is there are some tried and true ways

我们确实尝试过一些方式

that we can get more carbon in our soils and build our soils back.

将更多的碳送入土壤， 重建土壤。

We can plow less,

我们可以少耕田，

and we can make sure that we have roots in the ground year round,

确保全年地里都有植物根茎，

feeding the microbes

让微生物有东西吃，

and powering that microbial engine humming under our feet.

发动我们脚下的 这台微生物“机器”。

And we can do this.

我们能做到。

The other thing is,

另外关键的一点是多样性。

diversity is the key ingredient in this recipe.

Diverse plant communities support diverse microbial communities

多样的植物种群支撑着 多样的微生物种群，

that can transform and store more carbon.

它们可以转化碳、储存碳。

Diversity is good for soils,

多样性对土壤很有益，

and it's good for climate mitigation.

对缓解气候问题也很有益。

Just like we need every microbe,

就如同我们需要每一种微生物，

we need every farmer and rancher,

我们也需要每一位农民、 每一位牧场主、

every climate solution and every solver.

每一个气候解决方案 和每一位问题解决者。

So ...

所以……

Healthy, carbon-rich soils matter today more than ever.

富含碳的健康土壤 对我们的当下至关重要。

The other great thing about carbon-rich soils

碳含量高的土壤还有一个好处，

is they help farmers have more consistent agricultural operations

它可以让农民的农业操作更一致、

and more sustainable ones

更可持续，

that can withstand the ups and downs of a changing climate.

能够适应气候变化 带来的剧烈影响。

That's a huge win for the people that grow our food,

对于为我们种植食物的人来说， 这可是件大好事，

it’s a win for climate, and it’s a win for us consumers.

对于气候、消费者来说 都是大好事。

So how do we do it?

我们该怎么做呢？

Well, there are three simple things we can do.

我们能做的有三件事。

Number one, we have to protect our soils and the carbon they already hold.

第一，我们必须保护 我们的土壤和其中的碳。

Number two, we can get more carbon underground

第二，我们可以通过种植

更多样、更耐气候变化的作物， 将更多的碳送入地下。

by growing diverse, climate-adapted crops.

And number three, we can let the microbes do their thing.

第三，我们得让微生物 自由发挥。

Leave them alone by leaving the soil undisturbed.

不要去动土壤， 让微生物做该做的事。

It sounds simple, and that's because it kind of is.

听起来很简单， 确实也不难。

But there are some questions that are left to be answered,

但还是有一些未被回答的问题

and there's a lot of room for us to innovate.

和一些创新的空间。

We need to track and measure our climate progress.

我们得追踪、衡量 气候变化进程。

We need to develop more climate-resilient crop varieties

我们得研发出更适应气候变化的 作物品种，

that can grow deeper roots

根茎更长，

and pump carbon underground deeper.

将碳送入更深的地底。

And we need to rethink our economic models and agriculture

我们得重新调整 我们的经济模式和农业，

and help support and incentivize

支持、鼓励

these carbon-sequestering agricultural practices.

农业碳汇行为。

So lots of room for innovation, lots of room for research.

很多创新的空间， 很多研究的空间。

Good news for us scientists.

对科学家来说是个好消息。

But we don't have time to waste.

但是我们不能再浪费时间了。

Climate change is here and it's affecting all of us, whether we know it or not.

无论我们是否意识到了，气候变化 迫在眉睫，影响着我们每一个人。

It's affecting every single ecosystem, including agriculture.

影响着每一个生态系统， 包括农业。

Soils are the literal foundation of life on this planet,

土壤是地球生命的坚实基础，

the reason that we can eat

是我们食物的来源，

and the climate solution just waiting to be unlocked.

也是静待我们启用的 气候解决方案。

So let's build back our soils,

让我们重建土壤，

help our planet by looking down to the ground.

脚踏“实地”拯救我们的地球。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）