ENCINITAS, Calif. — Farmers and scientists have joined together to learn more about soil.

Experts across UC San Diego have launched a new center for soil health research called the Soil Health Center at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Executive Director Sarah Allard, a microbial ecologist, said the goal of the center is to address the environmental challenges facing agriculture such as climate change by learning more about soil and methods and technologies that might help mitigate environmental stressors such as drought, heat, and disease.

As part of this work, UC San Diego researchers have partnered with several farms across San Diego County to test and refine soil health innovations in the field.

This effort includes Coastal Roots Farm, a certified organic, regenerative farm in Encinitas. One experiment involves developing a probiotic for the soil that includes 18 species (17 bacteria and one fungus).

Scientists said soils help filter water, anchor landscapes, sequester carbon, and host the microbial communities that make life possible.

According to researchers, more than a century of industrial farming practices and synthetic fertilizer use has depleted carbon in the soil and degraded overall soil health, leaving agricultural systems increasingly vulnerable to drought, rising temperatures, extreme flooding and other climate impacts.