Soil fauna diversity increases CO 2 but suppresses N 2 O emissions from soil

CO(2) and N(2)O emissions in a soil chronosequence at a glacier retreat zone in Maritime Antarctica.

Studies of C cycle alterations are extremely important to identify changes due to climate change, especially in the polar ecosystem. The objectives of this study were to (i) examine patterns of soil CO2-C and N2O-N emissions, and (ii) evaluate the quantity and quality of soil organic matter across a glacier retreat chronosequence in the Maritime Antarctica. Field measurements were carried out d...

Soil Fauna Diversity – Function , Soil Degradation , Biological Indices , Soil Restoration

Indirect N 2 O Emissions from Agriculture

Agricultural perturbations to the global nitrogen cycle, directly and indirectly, lead to enhanced biogenic production of nitrous oxide (N2O). Direct pathways include microbial nitrification and denitrification of fertiliser and manure nitrogen that remains in agricultural soils or animal waste management systems. Indirect pathways involve nitrogen that is removed from agricultural soils and an...

Biofuels from crop residue can reduce soil carbon and increase CO₂ emissions

Removal of corn residue for biofuels can decrease soil organic carbon1,2 (SOC) and increase CO2 emissions3 because residue C in biofuels is oxidized to CO2 at a faster rate than when added to soil.4,5 Net CO2 emissions from residue removal are not adequately characterized in biofuel life cycle assessment (LCA).6–8 Here we used a model to estimate CO2 emissions from corn residue removal across t...

Plant diversity increases soil microbial activity and soil carbon storage.

Plant diversity strongly influences ecosystem functions and services, such as soil carbon storage. However, the mechanisms underlying the positive plant diversity effects on soil carbon storage are poorly understood. We explored this relationship using long-term data from a grassland biodiversity experiment (The Jena Experiment) and radiocarbon ((14)C) modelling. Here we show that higher plant ...