New soil models may ease atmospheric CO2, climate change

Date:
July 28, 2020
Source:
Cornell University
Summary:
To remove carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere in an effort
to slow climate change, scientists must get their hands dirty and
peek underground.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
To remove carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere in an effort to
slow climate change, scientists must get their hands dirty and peek underground.


==========================================================================
In an article published July 27 in Nature Geoscience, Cornell University's Johannes Lehmann and others wrote that scientists should develop new
models that more accurately reflect the carbon-storage processes beneath
our feet, in order to effectively draw down atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Carbon's journey into the soil is akin to a busy New York City rush hour.

"Everything in the soil is bustling and changing all the time on a daily
or hourly basis," said Lehmann, professor of soil biogeochemistry and
the lead author on the piece.

"Microorganisms are on the street, but carbon quickly disappears around
the corner or hides in nooks and crannies," he said. "Microorganisms in
the soils that consume carbon can never be sure what tomorrow looks like." Think of it this way: Sometimes soil microorganisms see a lot of carbon
but still cannot devour it.

Lehmann and an international, interdisciplinary group of scientists
propose the creation of new soil carbon-persistence models through the
lens of "functional complexity" -- the interplay between time and space
in soil carbon's changing molecular structure.

Functional complexity drives carbon sequestration, and scientists must
know specifically how carbon stays in the ground, according to Lehmann.

"Even if soil microorganisms have a full smorgasbord in front of them,
they don't know what to eat if there is very little of each kind
of carbon," said Lehmann, a fellow at Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. "Although there is plenty of carbon, microorganisms
starve, especially if they have to adjust to ever-changing conditions in
a crazy maze." With new models, scientists believe they can find out
exactly how sequestration works. It could then be properly reflected
in the next assessment of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) -- which likely will address drawing down
atmospheric carbon.

Lehmann said that with modeling techniques gleaned from the field of engineering, for example, soil scientists can find better management
methods to reduce atmospheric carbon.

"Collaboration in a stellar group of thinkers from diverse disciplines
was key for us to come up with a new view on this old conundrum,"
he said. "We seem to be building climate models based on an erroneous understanding of why organic carbon stays in soil and how microbes are
eating it. We need a new thinking to incorporate the best models for
IPCC and other climate prediction efforts."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Cornell_University. Original written
by Blaine Friedlander. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Johannes Lehmann, Colleen M. Hansel, Christina Kaiser, Markus
Kleber,
Kate Maher, Stefano Manzoni, Naoise Nunan, Markus Reichstein,
Joshua P.

Schimel, Margaret S. Torn, William R. Wieder, Ingrid Ko"gel-Knabner.

Persistence of soil organic carbon caused by functional complexity.

Nature Geoscience, 2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41561-020-0612-3 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200728130835.htm

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