In a new study from UBC’s Okanagan campus, researchers have discovered a surprising new source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emmissions—bicarbonates hidden in the lake water used to irrigate local orchards.
In a new study from UBC’s Okanagan campus, researchers have discovered a surprising new source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emmissions—bicarbonates hidden in the lake water used to irrigate local orchards.
“We have been studying the carbon content of soil for some time,” says Melanie Jones, professor of biology and study lead author. “This large natural carbon store is hugely important in combatting rising atmospheric CO2 levels and it’s essential to understand all the carbon transactions that take place in soil.”
During photosynthesis, plants remove CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it into plant tissue such as roots, leaves, fruit or bark. At the same time, Jones explains, the decomposition of dead plant tissue by soil organisms, including bacteria, fungi, earthworms, ants and others, produce CO2 and release it back into the atmosphere.
Critically, some of the CO2 that was removed from the atmosphere by plants can also be converted into soil organic matter by soil organisms, where it can remain in the soil for hundreds of years,” says Kirsten Hannam, an agroecologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and a co-author on the study. “So major research efforts are underway to figure out how to increase soil organic matter content.”
Read more at University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus
Photo Credit: Engin_Akyurt via Pixabay
