soil carbon

Without a solid understanding of how the soil microbiome contributes to atmospheric carbon, researchers are struggling to determine whether dirt-dwelling bacteria could impact—and be impacted by—climate change.

Tests run on Martian soil samples indicate the presence of organic compounds, but the traces of carbon may or may not have come from once-living things.

Successive awakening of soil microbes drives a huge pulse of CO₂ following the first rain after a dry summer.

As the planet warms plant growth will likely increase—locking up some of that extra carbon dioxide by converting it into vegetative biomass—but that’s not the whole story. 

New research suggests that the flow of carbon through plants to underground ecosystems may be crucial to how the environment responds to climate change.

Getting the big picture means asking lots of little questions.