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Study: Soils Could Release Much More Carbon Than Expected as Climate Warms2 min read

by Maryann Villavert on March 10, 2017

Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions Program Domain Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division Climate Sciences Department GC-Climate Carbon Sink Publication Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program
Scientists working in Blodgett Forest

Soil sampling in the Blodgett Forest near Georgetown conducted by Berkeley Lab’s Earth Sciences Division researchers Caitlin Hicks Pries, Cristina Castanha and Neslihan Tas Baas – sterile sample six 1 meter deep cores in 10 cm increments down to 1m.

Soils could release much more CO2 than expected into the atmosphere as the climate warms, according to new research by scientists in EESA’s Climate and Ecosystems Sciences Division—Caitlin Hicks Pries, Christina Castanha, Rachel Porras, and Margaret Torn.

Their findings are based on a field experiment that, for the first time, explored what happens to organic carbon trapped in soil when all soil layers are warmed, which in this case extend to a depth of 100 centimeters. The scientists discovered that warming both the surface and deeper soil layers at three experimental plots increased the plots’ annual release of CO2 by 34 to 37 percent over non-warmed soil. Much of the CO2 originated from deeper layers, indicating that deeper stores of carbon are more sensitive to warming than previously thought.

Their work is available online in the journal Science, as of March 9, “The whole-soil carbon flux in response to warming“.

Read more from the Berkeley Lab News Center (March 9, 2017)

In the news

  • Soils Could Release Much More Carbon than Expected as Climate Warms, BER Highlights (July 12, 2017).
  • How Much Carbon Could Soils Release Amid Warming Climate?, AG Web (May 24, 2017).
  • Warming soils may belch much more carbon, Science News (April, 2017).
  • Study: Soils Could Release Much More Carbon Than Expected as Climate Warms, Technology Org (March 12, 2017).
  • Why Soil Could Make Climate Change Worse Than Scientists Thought, Time (March 9, 2017).
  • As the World Gets Hotter, Soils May Emit More CO2 Than Previously Thought, Seeker (March 9, 2017).
  • This soil study has some deeply disturbing predictions about CO2 emissions, Project Earth (March 9, 2017).
  • Soils could release much more carbon than expected as climate warms, Phys.org (March 9, 2017).

News & Events

Former Intern Emily Nagamoto Wins AGU Award1 min read

March 27, 2023

Former Science Undergraduate Laboratory Intern (SULI) Emily Nagamoto received an American Geophysical Union (AGU) Outstanding Presentation Award, which honors exceptional presentations given during AGU’s 2022 Fall meeting. She was mentored by Staff Scientist Charuleka Varadharajan and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Mohammed Ombadi during her Summer 2022 SULI term. Currently an undergraduate student in Duke University’s Nicholas…

EESA Scientists Investigate How Tropical Soil Microbes Might Respond to Future Droughts2 min read

March 14, 2023

As the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, tropical rainforests are just as critical to sustaining environmental and human systems as they are beautiful. Their unique climate with high temperatures, humidity, and precipitation promotes high primary productivity, which offsets high respiration, resulting in these ecosystems being one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth,…

Doubling Protected Lands for Biodiversity Could Require Tradeoffs With Other Land Uses, Study Finds4 min read

March 3, 2023

This article first appeared on lbl.gov. Scientists show how 30% protected land targets may not safeguard biodiversity hotspots and may negatively affect other sectors – and how data and analysis can support effective conservation and land use planning Although more than half the world’s countries have committed to protecting at least 30% of land and oceans…

Six Berkeley Lab Scientists Named AAAS Fellows6 min read

This article first appeared at lbl.gov Six researchers have been elected into the 2022 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced their 2022 Fellows, including six scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This lifetime honor, which follows…

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