鑽石舞台

中英文字幕

Under our feet, there is an unseen world more diverse than all the tropical rainforests combined.

在我們腳下，有着一個比所有熱帶雨林加起來更多樣化的隱秘世界。

Teeming with microbial life and critters, large and small, this hidden world of soil is on every single continent.

這個世界充滿了大大小小的細菌和微生物，土壤的隱秘世界藏在世界的每個角落。

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

但是大多數人都對我們腳下的這個廣袤世界知之甚少。

And for most of my life, I was no exception.

在我人生的大部分時間裡，我也是其中一員。

I grew up (a) very curious and adventurous kid.

我從小就是一個好奇心強、愛冒險的孩子。

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

我總是在爬樹，再摔下來。

And I spent a lot of time getting really dirty.

總是弄得灰頭土臉。

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

讀大學的時候，我讀了一門科學必修課，

and I was shocked to discover that being really curious and loving dirt could be a legitimate career.

我驚訝地發現，好奇心重、喜歡「灰」頭「土」臉真的可以是一份正經工作。

So it took no convincing whatsoever for me to change my major, and that's how I became an ecologist.

所以我毫不猶豫地轉了專業，然後成為了一名生態學家。

In graduate school, I studied how the loss of a seed disperser, in this case, the winnow ant, affected the plants that they disperse.

讀研究生的時候，我研究了種子傳播媒介的流失，此處即盤腹蟻，會對它們傳播的植物造成什麼影響。

In my research site, we were discovering that these ants were moving up in elevation to escape a rapidly changing climate.

在我的研究地點，我們發現，這種蟻正在提高棲息地海拔，逃避快速變化的氣候。

But they were leaving the plants they dispersed behind.

但是它們拋下了本該傳播種子的植物。

So while I came to grad school to study ants, I all of a sudden found myself studying climate change.

所以我突然發現，在我讀研、研究螞蟻的時候，我其實就是在研究氣候變化。

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

由於螞蟻在土壤中築巢，我還得學習很多關於土壤的知識。

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

我沒料到作為一名年輕好奇、初露頭角的生態學家，

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.

我竟然要把接下來十年的時間花在研究這一大堆看不見的土壤微生物上，我們又該如何利用它們的巨大力量幫助應對氣候變化。

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

在談這一點之前，我們還是從頭開始吧。

Soils are considered to be the skin of the Earth.

土壤被認為是地球的皮膚。

They're only a few meters thick, but they support all agriculture and every single terrestrial biome.

它只有幾米厚，卻支撐着所有農業活動，維繫着所有的陸地生物群系。

Soils help protect our food supply, clean our water, boost our immune systems, and they serve as a source for some critical medicines,

土壤保障着我們的食物供應，清潔我們的水系，增強我們的免疫系統，還是一些重要藥品的來源，

including many that have yet to be discovered.

包括一些尚未被開發的藥品。

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.

如果沒有地球這極其纖薄的土壤層和它豐富的微生物群，我們就沒有東西吃，我們所知的人類也不會存在。

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

土壤和很多好東西一樣，需要時間發展。

They form over hundreds to thousands of years as rocks break down and plants and animals decompose.

它們是經過成百上千年岩石分解和動植物分解形成的。

As soils form, they accumulate and store carbon.

土壤形成時，會積攢、儲存碳。

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

事實上，地下儲存着數十億噸的碳。

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

比我們大氣中的要多兩到三倍。

Plants and soil work in collaboration to drive the single most important transformation of carbon on this planet, photosynthesis.

植物和土壤一起進行着地球上最重要的碳轉化過程——光合作用。

Plants take carbon dioxide from the air, and they combine it with water and sunshine to create sugars.

植物從空氣中吸收二氧化碳，利用水和太陽光，生成糖類。

And of course, to grow plants.

當然，植物也會藉此生長。

Plants and their sugars eventually decompose in the soil, feeding the microbes.

植物和它們的糖最終會在土壤中分解，滋養微生物。

In fact, most of the carbon that comes in through plants ends up in soil at some point.

其實大部分經過植物吸收的碳遲早會到達土壤。

The carbon cycle continues.

碳循環仍在繼續。

Microbes and their carbon eventually break down, and the carbon from the microbes sticks to soil particles,

微生物和它們的碳最終會分解，來自微生物的碳會粘附在土壤顆粒上，

creating what we call soil clumps or aggregates.

形成我們俗稱的「土塊」或「團聚物」。

Because microbial carbon is sticky.

原因是微生物碳的粘性很強。

So when that microbial carbon ends up in a clump, it's physically protected from further decomposition.

所以當微生物碳最終變成土塊形態時，土塊就不會再次分解了。

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.

我們現在知道大部分被吸收的土壤碳都是死去的微生物，即「土壤微生物殘體」。

That necromass can stick around in soils for decades to millennia, especially if we leave soils undisturbed.

這些殘體會在土壤中留存幾十年、幾千年，尤其是在我們不去動這些土壤的情況下。

But over the last 12,000 years,

但在過去的12000年裡，

we have lost billions of tons of carbon from our soil as humans converted grasslands and forests into agricultural fields and range lands,

人們把草地和森林變成農田和牧場，修路，建設城市，

building roads and cities.

導致了土壤中幾十億噸碳的流失。

One of the major drivers of that loss was the plow, which, at the time,

流失的主要原因之一是耕地，在當時，

was a major technological breakthrough that really revolutionized agriculture and altered the trajectory of human history.

耕地是一個巨大的科技突破，徹底改變了農業，也改變了人類歷史的軌跡。

With each pass of the plow, those plant roots and soil aggregates that we know are really important are broken apart,

每犁一遍地，這些非常重要的植物根莖和土塊就會被鏟碎，

exposing carbon to decomposition.

讓碳分解。

Today we use more than a third of our land to feed and clothe billions of people on this planet.

如今，超過三分之一的土地被用來為地球上幾十億人提供食物和衣物。

But we're losing our soils at an alarming rate, and with it, we're losing their fertility.

但是我們正在以驚人的速度失去我們的土壤，也就是說我們正在失去土壤的肥力。

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.

如果沒有土壤，到2050年，要養活地球上將近100億的人口將會困難得多。

That's going to put a lot more pressure on what is already a disappearing and resoundingly underappreciated resource.

這會讓這種已經在逐漸消失、明顯缺乏重視的資源壓力倍增。

There is no machine that can bring soil back.

沒有一台機器可以重新製造出土壤。

No technology that can do what thousands of years of rock weathering and biological activity have achieved.

沒有一種技術可以達到岩石風化和生物活動的千年成果。

But we can build our soils and put more carbon underground with a little help from plants and microbes.

但是我們可以藉助一些植物和微生物的力量，重建土壤，在地下再儲存一些碳。

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:

重建土壤要求我們徹底重新考量我們對科技和化學物質的依賴，由此達到土壤靠自己就能做到的事：

support life.

維持生命。

And life in soil is mostly microbial.

土壤中的生命主要是微生物。

The Dutch scientist, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, saw tiny organisms he called the "wee beasties," under his microscope about 350 years ago.

大約350年前，荷蘭科學家安東尼·范·列文虎克在他的顯微鏡下看到了被他稱為「小野獸」的微小生物。

And with the rapid innovation of molecular and computational tools,

隨着分子和計算工具的快速發展，

we are finally getting a sneak peek at who they are and how they make their way in the world.

我們終於可以一見它們的真容，它們如何在世界裡生存。

Here's the thing.

事情是這樣的。

A teaspoon of soil holds billions of organisms, things like bacteria, fungi, protists and archaea.

一小勺土壤包含了幾十億個有機體，比如細菌、真菌、原生生物和古生菌。

These microbes are the movers and shakers of nature's carbon cycle.

這些微生物左右着自然界的碳循環。

They drive really important processes in soil, they take organic matter and convert it into complex carbon molecules.

它們會促進土壤中的重要進程，將有機物質轉化為複合碳分子。

And having more carbon in soil is transformative.

土壤保有更多的碳會帶來巨大改變。

As carbon accumulates, agricultural fields can hold on to more water and more nutrients,

隨着碳的積累，農田可以保持更多的水和更多的養分，

building resilience that helps them deal with the ups and downs of a changing climate.

幫助農田建立應對氣候變化的抗風險能力。

That resilience means plants can grow more consistently, even when the weather is fickle.

這種抗風險能力意味着即使是在變化無常的天氣條件下，植物也可以不受影響地生長。

And the awesome thing is carbon-rich soils help buffer us against what is an uncertain climate future.

很棒的一點是，碳含量高的土壤可以為我們應對未來未知的氣候提供緩衝。

The trick is to really rethink how we do agriculture.

訣竅就在於重新考慮農耕的方式。

So there is the good news,

有一個好消息，

which is there are some tried and true ways

我們確實嘗試過一些方式，

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

將更多的碳送入土壤，重建土壤。

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

我們可以少耕田，確保地里全年都有植物根莖，

feeding the microbes and powering that microbial engine humming under our feet.

讓微生物有東西吃，發動我們腳下的這台微生物「機器」。

And we can do this.

我們能做到的。

The other thing is, diversity is the key ingredient in this recipe.

另外關鍵的一點是多樣性。

Diverse plant communities support diverse microbial communities that can transform and store more carbon.

多樣的植物種群支撐着多樣的微生物種群，它們可以轉化碳、儲存碳。

Diversity is good for soils, and it's good for climate mitigation.

多樣性對土壤很有益，對緩解氣候問題也很有益。

Just like we need every microbe, we need every farmer and rancher, every climate solution and every solver.

就如同我們需要每一種微生物，我們也需要每一位農民、每一位牧場主、每一個氣候解決方案和每一位解決問題的人。

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

所以……富含碳的健康土壤對我們的當下至關重要。

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.

碳含量高的土壤還有一個好處，它可以讓農民的農業操作更一致、更可持續，能夠適應氣候變化帶來的影響。

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.

對於為我們種植糧食的人來說，這可是件大好事，對於氣候、消費者來說都是大好事。

So how do we do it?

那麼我們該怎麼做呢？

Well, there are three simple things we can do.

我們能做的有三件事。

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

首先，我們必須保護我們的土壤和它們已經儲存的碳。

Number two, we can get more carbon underground by growing diverse, climate-adapted crops.

第二，我們可以通過種植更多樣、更耐氣候變化的作物，將更多的碳送入地下。

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

第三，我們得讓微生物自由發揮。

Leave them alone by leaving the soil undisturbed.

不要去動土壤，讓微生物做該做的事。

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

聽起來很簡單，確實也不難。

But there are some questions that are left to be answered, and there's a lot of room for us to innovate.

但還有一些問題有待回答，我們還有很大的創新空間。

We need to track and measure our climate progress.

我們需要跟蹤和衡量我們的氣候發展。

We need to develop more climate-resilient crop varieties that can grow deeper roots and pump carbon underground deeper.

我們得研發出更適應氣候變化的作物品種，根莖更長，將碳送入更深的地底。

And we need to rethink our economic models and agriculture and help support and incentivize these carbon-sequestering agricultural practices.

我們得重新調整我們的經濟模式和農業，支持、鼓勵農業碳匯行為。

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

所以創新的空間很大，研究的空間也很大。

Good news for us scientists.

這對我們科學家來說是個好消息。

But we don't have time to waste.

但我們沒有時間可以浪費了。

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

無論我們是否意識到了，氣候變化迫在眉睫，影響着我們每一個人。

It's affecting every single ecosystem, including agriculture.

它影響着每一個生態系統，包括農業。

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.

土壤是地球生命的堅實基礎，是我們食物的來源，也是靜待我們啟用的氣候解決方案。

So let's build back our soils, help our planet by looking down to the ground.

讓我們重建土壤，腳踏「實地」拯救我們的地球。

Thank you.

謝謝。