Soil armor cools surface temperature

[Tracy Mumma]

A nice article on regenerative agriculture from the Enid News & Eagle in Oklahoma (https://www.enidnews.com/news/progr...cle_c08e1b4e-8eb1-11ec-ad33-47373b6c6fc5.html) quotes Mark Thomas as saying that he checked surface temperatures one year on the Fourth of July and found that bare soil tilled post-harvest was 110 degrees, while armored soil in a field was only 85 degrees.

 

[JustinM]

I've done similar testing myself using a meat thermometer. With an ambient air temperature of 88 degrees F, soil completely covered with dense green vegetation had a temperature around 70 degrees. Where some residue covered the soil surface the temperature was around 84 degrees and where the soil was bare, the temperature was 92 degrees. Soil temperatures have a huge effect on soil biological activity. Once temperatures exceed 75 degrees, soil microbial activity slows down and water begins to evaporate. Keeping the soil covered especially with living, green vegetation really facilitates soil life activity and plant growth.