Do regenerative farming practices improve soil health and plant diversity on small farms around southeast Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau?
Authors
Patterson, Maximilian
Fournier, Rowland
McGrath, Deborah
Issue Date
2025-04-25
Type
Other
Language
en_US
Keywords
Scholarship Sewanee 2025 , University of the South, Regenerative Agriculture, Carbon sequestration, sustainability
Alternative Title
Abstract
Research suggests that regenerative agricultural practices that enhance soil carbon sequestration may mitigate climate change, improve soil health and promote biodiversity. Small farmers around the world are adopting these practices out of a sense of stewardship. Methods to assess the effectiveness of these practices, however, are often designed for large operations. We sampled small (<200 acres) regenerative and conventional farms around the southeastern Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee to examine whether regenerative agriculture has positive impacts in this context. A 2022 pilot study of small farms comparing soil carbon between farmland managed with regenerative practices and adjacent unmanaged plots had inconclusive results, in part, due to the stratified random sampling method that had been developed for large farming operations. We shared the results of the pilot study, including soil carbon maps, with the farmers. Based upon these conversations, we modifed our sampling strategy to include conventional farms and measured new variables, including plant species richness and soil aggregate stability, in addition to soil organic carbon. We directed our sampling to where farmers have implemented regenerative practices most intensively and for the longest period. In contrast to the pilot study, data collected using methods modified to focus on farmer practices demonstrated significant results on some farms. One farm regenerating from strip mining showed considerable improvement, while others showed less dramatic results, depending on practices and soil type. This study shows that a collaborative adaptive study design integrating farmers’ insights may better reflect the positive effects of regenerative practices on small farms.
Description
Citation
Publisher
University of the South