As temperatures rise, soil will relinquish less carbon to the atmosphere than predicted
Monday, November 17, 2014 - 19:00
in Earth & Climate
Current climate models probably overestimate the amount of carbon that will be released from soil into the atmosphere as global temperatures rise, according to research. The findings are from a new computer model that explores the feedbacks between soil carbon and climate change. It's the first such model to include several physiologically realistic representations of how soil microbes break down organic matter, a process that annually unleashes about ten times as much carbon into the atmosphere as fossil fuel emissions.