Soil health practices to sequester carbon include reduced tillage or no tillage and cover cropping.
Study suggests carbon stored in soil is entering atmosphere faster, thanks to microbes.
In a study published August 2 in Nature, scientists show that this process is speeding up as Earth warms and is happening faster than plants are taking in carbon through photosynthesis. The team found that the rate at which microbes are transferring carbon from soil to the atmosphere has increased 1.2 percent over a 25-year time period, from 1990 through 2014.
Scientists have known that as temperatures rise, soil respiration increases. The research team on the study sought to compare the roles of the two main contributors, increased plant growth and microbial action.
The team discovered a growing role for microbes, whose action is outstripping the ability of plants to absorb carbon.