Deconstructing the microbial necromass continuum to inform soil carbon sequestration

Soil carbon sequestration

Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change

The increase in atmospheric concentration of CO2 by 31% since 1750 from fossil fuel combustion and land use change necessitates identification of strategies for mitigating the threat of the attendant global warming. Since the industrial revolution, global emissions of carbon (C) are estimated at 270F 30 Pg (Pg = petagram= 10 g = 1 billion ton) due to fossil fuel combustion and 136F 55 Pg due to...

Significant role for microbial autotrophy in the sequestration of soil carbon.

Soils were incubated for 80 days in a continuously labeled (14)CO(2) atmosphere to measure the amount of labeled C incorporated into the microbial biomass. Microbial assimilation of (14)C differed between soils and accounted for 0.12% to 0.59% of soil organic carbon (SOC). Assuming a terrestrial area of 1.4 × 10(8) km(2), this represents a potential global sequestration of 0.6 to 4.9 Pg C year(...

Soil carbon sequestration in United States rangelands

Rangelands are uncultivated lands that include grasslands, savannahs, steppes, shrub lands, deserts and tundra. The native vegetation on rangelands is predominantly grasses, forbs and shrubs (Kothmann, 1974). Rangelands cover 31 percent of the land surface area of the United States (Havstad et al., 2009), and up to half of the land surface area worldwide (Lund, 2007). Most land areas that are n...

Soil Carbon Sequestration through Desertification Control

Desertification, a natural process, is exacerbated by anthropogenic activities. It reduces soil productivity, jeopardizes food security, impairs environment quality, accelerates global warming and exacerbates global security risks. Degradation of soil and vegetation aggravates the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The biophysical processes of soil and vegetation degradation are ...