Tag

Soil Carbon

All articles tagged with #soil carbon

science17 days ago•15 min saved

Underground fungal superhighways could reach the Sun nearly a billion times

Scientists mapped Earth's arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks, estimating about 110 quadrillion kilometres of living hyphae in the top 15 cm of soil, with grasslands hosting roughly 40% of this network and moving around 4 billion tonnes of CO2‑equivalent into soils each year. The study, built from 16,000 soil cores, robotic imaging of over 300,000 fungal structures, and machine-learning models, provides the first global density map of this underground circulatory system and highlights how farming practices—tilling, fertilisers, and land conversion—can affect it, while underscoring fungi’s role in nutrient exchange and carbon cycling across ecosystems.

via Space Daily|

#biodiversity-hotspots #grasslands #mycorrhizal-fungi

science3 months ago•5 min saved

First Global Map Reveals Earth's Hidden Fungal Highway

A global team mapped the underground mycorrhizal network, estimating about 110 quadrillion kilometers of fungal filaments and 300 megatons of carbon; these networks transfer roughly 4 billion tonnes of CO2 into soil each year (about 11% of human-emitted CO2) and support ~70% of plant species. The map, produced from 322 studies and 16,000 soil samples using machine learning and advanced imaging, shows that natural ecosystems host denser networks than agricultural lands, with grasslands holding a large share of biomass. Widespread habitat loss could weaken soil carbon storage and nutrient cycling, highlighting fungi as a planetary circulatory system.

via WIRED|

#climate-change #ecology #fungi

environment3 months ago•39 min saved

Global map reveals Earth’s hidden fungal highways are densest beneath wild grasslands

Researchers mapped the world’s underground mycorrhizal network, estimating about 68 quadrillion miles (110 quadrillion km) of fungal hyphae that connect around 70% of Earth’s plants. The network boosts plant access to water, nutrients, and soil carbon exchange, and it is densest under wild grasslands rather than rainforests. Farmland shows about half the density, highlighting how agricultural practices affect these hidden connections and offering new avenues for conservation and farming methods that protect this vast, climate-relevant web.

via Earth.com|

#environment #fungi #grasslands

science5 months ago•6 min saved

Long-Term Soil Warming Reveals Hidden Climate Feedback

A 37-year Harvard Forest warming experiment shows soil carbon once thought to be stable can decompose under higher temperatures, releasing extra CO2 as microbes adapt—revealing a potential climate feedback that could alter future carbon-cycle predictions.

via SciTechDaily|

#climate-feedback #harvard-forest #science

science2 years ago•4 min saved

Unraveling the Uncertainty: Soil Carbon's Impact on Climate Models

A study by Tao et al. suggests that microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) is the primary driver of global soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, with plant carbon inputs having a minor impact. However, a group of researchers raises concerns about the robustness of the approach, suggesting that potential biases in the analysis may lead to model-dependent and misleading results. The study highlights the need for further investigation into the mechanisms of soil organic carbon formation and stabilization to effectively manage land carbon and mitigate climate change.

via Nature.com|

#climate-change #microbial-carbon-use-efficiency #model-uncertainty