A thermodynamic approach to the assessment of soil ecosystem function: Towards the development of agro-ecological principles rooted in new ecological perspectives

The Anthropocene has been linked to a widespread loss of ecosystem structure and function. It is believed that repercussions of this extend to climate change and agriculture is deemed as a leading industry behind environmental decline. The need for a concise understanding of ecological function is ever more pressing, as well as the development of an agricultural framework that is both productive and ecologically sustainable. Over the last century, thermodynamics has found its place in the development of ecological theory. A theoretical consistency among thermodynamic principles points to circular interaction as a fundamental process in the development of complex systems. Although receiving significant attention recently with the publication of FAO’s ‘Nature Positive’, its application in sustainable agriculture remains a mystery. This requires the development of effective indicators that are equipped to capture the complexity of energy and matter interchange. However, energetics cannot be measured directly and this thesis explores proxies of energy metrics, in the context of sustainable agriculture. Following on from over a decade of research, the study explores soil temperature, as well as a novel measure of soils chemical environment (REDOX potential), discussing their utilization in a thermodynamic approach to the assessment of agricultural soils. The indicators show potential and data corroborates previous research. The greatest limitation is the simplified experimental design; however the research provides a first insight into application of thermodynamics to soil assessment, highlighting a range of potential avenues for future research. To finish, an attempt to reconcile new developments in ecological theory with agricultural practice is made. Referring to results from the experimentation and drawing on the literature, to make some assumptions of the necessary conditions needed, for agriculture to move from the greatest cause of environmental decline, to the biggest driver of positive change.