A journalist falls down a rabbit hole of soil science and emerges with this book — an accessible, enthusiastic account of the researchers, ranchers, and farmers who believe that how we manage agricultural soils is the most consequential climate variable within human control.
The Carbon Calculation
The argument at the book’s heart is numerical. Agricultural soils have lost between 50 and 80 percent of their original carbon content over centuries of tillage and industrial farming. If that carbon could be returned — through no-till practices, cover crops, perennial pastures, and managed grazing — the total sequestration potential would be enormous: potentially equivalent to decades of human emissions.
Ohlson profiles the researchers making this case: Christine Jones in Australia, David Johnson in New Mexico, Abe Collins in Vermont. The science is not settled — the soil carbon sequestration debate is active and contested — but the direction of the evidence is suggestive and the farming practices that promote carbon sequestration are beneficial on their own terms regardless of the climate argument.
The Farmers
The book’s most compelling sections profile the farmers who have adopted regenerative practices and are seeing results: water tables recovering, erosion stopping, input costs falling, soil structure visibly improving. These anecdotal accounts are supplemented by the research that explains the mechanisms, making the book both practically grounded and intellectually credible.
The soil beneath our feet is the most complex ecosystem on Earth. It has been building and rebuilding for 450 million years. We have spent a century trying to replace it with chemistry, and it hasn't worked.
— Kristin Ohlson, The Soil Will Save Us
6 Key Ideas From This Book
There is more carbon stored in the world's soils than in the atmosphere and all terrestrial vegetation combined. Agricultural practices that release soil carbon are a major driver of climate change; practices that rebuild soil carbon are a major potential solution.
Plants capture atmospheric carbon through photosynthesis and pump a significant fraction directly into the soil through their roots, feeding soil organisms in exchange for nutrients. This "liquid carbon pathway" is the primary mechanism for soil carbon building and requires living plants in the soil at all times.
Mycorrhizal fungi produce glomalin — a protein that binds soil particles into aggregates and stores carbon in stable forms. Glomalin can remain in soil for decades to centuries. Tillage and fungicide applications destroy this system; no-till with diverse plantings rebuilds it.
Continuous grazing — keeping animals on the same land year-round — degrades soil and vegetation. Planned, high-intensity, short-duration grazing followed by long rest periods mimics the movement of wild herds and consistently builds soil organic matter.
Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser accelerates decomposition of soil organic matter, releasing carbon while boosting short-term yields. The long-term effect is to deplete the biological system that provides fertility naturally, creating increasing dependency on external inputs.
The major obstacle to soil carbon sequestration as a climate solution is measurement: soil carbon is spatially variable, seasonally variable, and technically difficult to quantify at scale. Advances in measurement technology are a prerequisite for soil carbon markets.
Any Weaknesses?
The title overpromises. The science on soil carbon sequestration as a climate solution is genuinely contested, and some researchers believe the sequestration potential has been significantly overestimated. Ohlson is an enthusiast rather than a neutral reporter, and the book does not adequately represent the sceptical side of the debate.
The journalistic approach — profile-driven, anecdote-heavy — makes for an accessible read but limits the depth of scientific engagement. Readers who want to evaluate the soil carbon claims critically will need to go to the primary literature.
General readers who want an accessible introduction to the soil carbon sequestration concept and its potential role in climate response.
Growing a Revolution by David Montgomery for a more scientifically rigorous treatment of the same subject, and Drawdown by Paul Hawken for the quantified sequestration potential of soil-building practices.
Carbon market developers and environmental finance professionals. The book describes the measurement and verification challenges that any agricultural carbon market needs to resolve.
The enthusiasm in the title is not fully supported by the science in the text. Read with a critical eye, cross-reference the specific claims, and treat the book as an introduction to a debate rather than a settled conclusion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Soil Will Save Us worth reading?
The Soil Will Save Us is a good introduction to regenerative agriculture and the soil carbon opportunity, accessible enough to reach readers who would never pick up a scientific paper. Its optimism is occasionally ahead of the evidence, but the underlying farming practices it advocates are sound regardless of the climate argument.
Who should read The Soil Will Save Us?
General readers who want an accessible introduction to the soil carbon sequestration concept and its potential role in climate response.
What is The Soil Will Save Us about in one sentence?
A journalist falls down a rabbit hole of soil science and emerges with this book — an accessible, enthusiastic account of the researchers, ranchers, and farmers who believe that how we manage agricultural soils is the most consequential climate variable within human control.
The Verdict
*The Soil Will Save Us* is a good introduction to regenerative agriculture and the soil carbon opportunity, accessible enough to reach readers who would never pick up a scientific paper. Its optimism is occasionally ahead of the evidence, but the underlying farming practices it advocates are sound regardless of the climate argument.
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