New findings explain how soil sequesters plant-based carbon from the atmosphere.
New findings explain how soil sequesters plant-based carbon from the atmosphere.
When carbon molecules from plants enter the soil, they hit a definitive fork in the road.
Either the carbon gets trapped in the soil for days or even years, where it is effectively sequestered from immediately entering the atmosphere. Or it feeds microbes, which then respire carbon dioxide (CO2) into the ever-warming environment.
In a new study, Northwestern University researchers determined the factors that could tip plant-based organic matter in one direction or the other.
Read more at Northwestern University
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