What is it about?
Over the past few years, numerous groups have observed CO2 emissions from desert soils in times/places that do not seem to correlate with biological activity. Researchers have hypothesized that this CO2 is released from carbonates in these soils, i.e. has a non-biological origin. This study used measurements of CO2 stable isotopes under field conditions to demonstrate conclusively that CO2 emitted from very hot desert soils during the day does indeed come from carbonates, rather than from biological respiration.
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Why is it important?
This paper provides direct evidence of a new mechanism for CO2 emission that had not previously been widely recognized by biogeochemists. Though is it generally assumed that this process does not represent a large net source of CO2 to the atmosphere, this might change as global climate change influences temperature and rainfall. For this reason, it is important to have a sound understanding of the mechanism underlying these CO2 emissions, and their sensitivity to climate.
Perspectives
Did you know that although arid lands cover nearly a third of the earth's land surface, but account for a very small proportion of studies in ecology and biogeochemistry? As a scientist, it is rewarding to work on relatively unexplored questions, especially because arid lands behave so differently to other ecosystems. Always full of surprises!
Dr Fiona Soper
Cornell University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Soil carbon dioxide emissions from the Mojave desert: Isotopic evidence for a carbonate source, Geophysical Research Letters, January 2017, American Geophysical Union (AGU),
DOI: 10.1002/2016gl071198.
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