Can Soil Actually Capture Carbon? Maybe Not
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- Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
- Researchers may have miscalculated soil’s ability to capture carbon...meaning our current global climate models might be off. So now what?!
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Ever clean your room by shoving everything under the bed? What if we could do this with all the extra carbon dioxide in our atmosphere-just shove it in the ground? Well, some people are actually already trying this and have poured millions of dollars, research, and time into this strategy, known as soil sequestration.
The thinking goes that soil can lock carbon underground and help with the climate crisis. But much like how messes don’t disappear when shoved into your closet, soil carbon may not stick around in the ways we had previously thought. In fact, our entire understanding of how carbon dioxide stays in the soil may need some MAJOR reworking.
To be clear: We do know that carbon can stick around in soil for centuries or even millennia. But let’s rewind a sec-if we wanna store carbon in the soil, we first need to understand what that thin layer of material covering Earth is actually made of. At its most basic, soil is made up of minerals, air, water, and organic matter like leaves. Organisms feast on this organic matter, breaking it down and releasing carbon dioxide, or CO2, into the air. With one major exception: humus.
#science #seeker #climatechange #CO2 #conservation #technology #elements #environment
Read More:
A Soil-Science Revolution Upends Plans to Fight Climate Change
www.quantamaga...
"A centuries-old concept in soil science has recently been thrown out. Yet it remains a key ingredient in everything from climate models to advanced carbon-capture projects."
One of Earth’s giant carbon sinks may have been overestimated - study
www.theguardia...
"The study, published in the journal Nature, analysed more than 100 experiments from across the world in which soils, plants, and trees were exposed to higher CO2 levels than in today’s atmosphere. The biomass growing in forests rose by 23% in experiments where the CO2 level used was double pre-industrial atmospheric levels. It is 50% higher today. But the forest soils did not store any more organic carbon at all."
Soil degradation: the problems and how to fix them
www.nhm.ac.uk/...
"Soil is not an inert medium but a living ecosystem that is essential to life. It takes hundreds and thousands of years to form an inch of topsoil, and many more centuries before it is fertile. While soil degradation is a natural process, it can also be caused by human activity."
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Well one easy solution to store carbon underground is to START STOPPING DIGGING UP MORE CARBON.
Even if topsoil is constantly cycling the carbon it contains, the more healthy topsoil we have the more carbon is _not in the atmosphere at that moment_, and healthy topsoil has a lot of other great uses too!
Like plants, which absorb even more CO2. It's not that bad. Doesn't mean it fixes the issue tough
@@superslimanoniem4712 The only way out of this is to give up using fossil fuels and to rebuild the ecology.
This is obviously true, so what I don’t get is why the Seeker people are pretending not to get the logic. The microorganisms in the soil are MADE of carbon… the more life that exists in the soil, the more carbon gets sequestered… the last time I encountered such obtuse thinking in this topic, the person turned out to work for a company that was pushing a specific alternative solution.
@@Z4RQUON they mean probaly longterm capture like centuries like torf
One massive part missed it in all this is the role of mycorrhizal fungus in storing Co2……I’m only an armchair amateur but this incredible fungus takes Co2 from plants in exchange for phosphorus and other essential plant food. We currently have very little understanding on the exact nature of the process, much more research is needed into the difference this makes in soil and plant life. Fungus is SO super important to understand in our world view, I’m only just starting on this path and it’s totally mind blowing 🤯
What about regenerative agriculture?
What is regenerative agriculture?
This has to be a Fnord.
@@collin6526 From Wikipedia:
Regenerative agriculture is a conservation and rehabilitation approach to food and farming systems. It focuses on topsoil regeneration, increasing biodiversity,[1] improving the water cycle,[2] enhancing ecosystem services, supporting biosequestration,[3] increasing resilience to climate change, and strengthening the health and vitality of farm soil.
Regenerative agriculture is not a specific practice itself. Rather, proponents of regenerative agriculture use a variety of sustainable agriculture techniques in combination.[4] Practices include recycling as much farm waste as possible and adding composted material from sources outside the farm.[5][6][7][8] Regenerative agriculture on small farms and gardens is often based on philosophies like permaculture, agroecology, agroforestry, restoration ecology, keyline design, and holistic management. Large farms tend to be less philosophy driven and often use "no-till" and/or "reduced till" practices.
As soil health improves, input requirements may decrease, and crop yields may increase as soils are more resilient against extreme weather and harbor fewer pests and pathogens.[9]
Most plans to mitigate climate change focus on "reducing greenhouse gas emissions." Regenerative agriculture, i.e. the capture of atmospheric carbon dioxide by growing plants that move that carbon dioxide into the soil, is pretty nearly the only currently-functioning technology available for drawing down greenhouse gases that are already in the atmosphere, mostly through the cultivation and nurturing of forests and permanent perennial pastures and grasslands.
The microorganisms that live in the soil are MADE of carbon, so if we give them the opportunity to multiply they will effectively sequester carbon. It’s an important nuance.
I believe this is the wrong interpretation of the new theories about soil carbon persistence. Is true that there is mounting evidence against humification or chemical protection of soil organic carbon and that other things such as physical protection explain better long persistence of soil carbon in mineral soils. However, the dawn of the humification theory should not be interpreted as the soil no having the capacity to actively remove carbon from the atmosphere through improved soil management (up to a point of saturation ofc) . Soil can sequester carbon, however not through recalcitrance. There is a lot of things to factor out and a lot of local determinants but changing conventional tillage, improving functional diversity, adding soil organic matter, among others are very likely capable to increase the amount of carbon in many managed soils.
I'd like to know why, instead of municipal composting AND sewage cleaning aren't combined to make and collect methane, instead of releasing all the existing CO2 and methane into the air, when it can be filtered and pumped into our current natural gas systems. I'm a green economist and studied geology, hydrology and biology, and I know, this can be done. I'd also like to see rocket companies using methane manufacture it from sewage/compst bioreactors.
I have a question. If I will grow lots of snails does that mean I will capture co2 in their shells? Im growing water snails in water tank. They are super easy to grow.
I'm currently working on biological carbon sequestration through trees.
The challenge is having the tree last longer than 50 years to be counted as "permanent carbon sink".
The best route is therefore to plant trees in and around existing forests, as those will not be subject to construction projects and the soil is clean and nutritious enough for the tree to keep growing.
What about Biochar? Weird that they didn't mention it.
The amount of comments below me that just do NOT know wtf they're talking about, geez...
Wait a few more hours...
Yeah they're still here
The best way to store carbon in soil is to use biomass converted into biochar, known as terre preta, this will increse the microbial activity, and structure, and its non degrading like organic carbon,
Biochar is the key and we can make lots of it from alge , and waste water
The acctual best way to store carbon is to grow trees, cut them down, and use them as furniture
@@Sinaeb Actually, the best way to store carbon is to create graphene munitions to use on the petrochemical industry.
Better shelled than shell.
@@yoshikhurazi1769 the best way is to just stop making the stuff that's ruining the climate.
I know I got wooooshed
@@Sinaeb Chimpanzees don't need furniture.
I thought that fast growing plants like Japanese Knotweed would sequester more carbon because of their faster growing, but is it true that their roots dig so deeply as to uproot buried CO2?
That already happened it was called the carboniferous
This is the first time I have ever heard anyone talking about using soil for long term carbon storage. It seems like this article is conflating underground storage and hummus.
Agri business, especially dairy, uses this as greenwash all the time.
no-till farming practices are listed constantly as a carbon sequestration solution
I was thinking the same thing; usually when I hear talk of underground sequestration, they're talking about limestone deposits or other minerals locate quite a bit deeper than topsoil. This is actually the first time I've even heard of soil based sequestration.
Let's not forget medium term carbon storage. When you grow a crop and harvest it, the roots stay in the ground. Over a time, they can rot, or be eaten by something, and release their carbon as CO_2. But some farmers plough the soil every year and bring those roots to the surface, where they decompose much more quickly. On the other hand, after a harvest, there are various stalks of some crops and they can be ploughed under and therefore kept away from the sunlight, oxygen and stuff that might eat it, so they could decompose more slowly.
As we understand this better, we should be able to store a few years worth of farmed carbon in the soil. Ultimately, of course, we need to stop turning fossil fuels into CO_2.
you mean the co2 that started out in the atmosphere before being trapped underground? the co2 that contributed to one of the largest bursts of plant life in the history of the planet? is that the co2 we're talking about?
@@the_hanged_clown yes, same stuff.
Would you like to live in the Cambrian, is that what you're saying? As homo sapiens? Really?
So as I understand you say we can't trust the models.
More hempcrete, and mushroom farms. Also methane capturing for power generation, and co2 is needed for plants, it helps plants. We need to capture other greenhouse gases.
YES!
Why is Seeker _strawmanning_ this idea?
One of, if not THE, biggest carbon capture disruption is due to the destruction of the marine biosphere. Fix the oceans, or at least STOP poisoning them and things may improve in geologic time.
Yeah but waist always flows down hill. And the ocean are at the bottom.
I agree with you.
The Ocean is one of the Biggest Carbon Sinks possible. So what we need is a Carbon Capture method that Filters the Carbonic Acid from the Ocean. That way the Ocean. Has "Fresh" water to then absorb more Carbon. Rinse and repeat. Personally I feel like that is a much more viable option than Air Carbon Capture.
@@ianswayne7296 so we should clean the waste before expelling it? I know it's expensive and hard but it needs to be done.
I am a soil science aficionado. I've been intrigued by the subject since I mentored a group of middle school students in ecology several years ago. It was at that time that scientists began seriously exploring soil as a carbon sink, and I recall sharing that with my class.
is it just me, but it LOOKS like you guys cropped in on her image when editing. It either looks cropped in or shot on an older camera or something.
Some trees are much better at storing carbon in soil than others, but even if the world had significantly more trees, it still wouldn’t be enough to meet climate change goals. The focus should be on leaving the carbon in the ground in the first place!
Highly recommend book "Dirt. Erosion of Civilazations." D. Montgomery.
It is not the CO2 that stays in the ground, its the multitude of carbon based compounds produced by plants, bacterias, and fungis.
How do I make a re entry launching pad for the New saiyan space pod looking ships China is working on to launch in 2024 I believe
That's exactly what it's made to do. If it ain't broke don't fix it $$$$cience. Greenwashing
Perhaps you can do a feature on the newest power generating geothermal technology.
Wow! This completely misses the point… the soil itself isn’t the carbon sink, the microorganisms that live in the soil are.
Wow she is really reading it ! She could look at the camera once, for fun! And slow down!!!
So essentially, scientists now know that they didn't know as much as they thought they knew. Ok
Ground breaking news to cover.
Permaculture please.
Nice video.
Was this video sponsored by a solar panel company or something?
Lignite, coal, gas and oil. These are some of natures ways of sequestering carbon.
That's science. Increase knowledge, regardless of what question you were asking when you started. 💜
We need to stop extracting fossil fuels yesterday
Does this change the accuracy of carbon dating?
I guess biochar spoils the climate crisis scam.
Did you know that just planting large pine forrests is the only way to combats climate change hahahaha
And maybe stop making so much CO2?
"Read books and study nature - if they don't agree, throw out the books."
-William Albrecht
sooo....humus is our stomach?
*Indian host...😁*
We need to cause soil has half the amount of carbon it should on farms! In Australia at least
Many farmers around the world have gone from
Archea (stupid auto correct) are all mostly carbon. Humus is mostly carbon. Living topsoil holds carbon. See “Carbonomics”.
we screwed
Scientists be MRI-ing the soil
Система
Noooooo I was hoping soil would save us
😮
💪🏿
Ok so as a farmer what can I do to capture some CO2 and store it in the soli ?
Compost, plant tree, plant bamboo, multiculture, mulch, conserve water, etc
capture or storage?
Thank you
Science
Storing carbon is a short-term solution. We should capture it and reinstitute it for other purposes. In South Africa, a start-up is reusing carbon to make bricks that can be used for housing which saves on resources. Everything on Earth that ever lived is made from carbon, you break it down to the molecular level and suddenly you have something that has value.
second
skyblock
Is there a way to turn carbon into H2O or Oxygen..?
No. Carbon's molecular symbol is C. There's no C in H2O or O2.
@@THEunderscoreJOKE Knock off or add a few protons, neutrons, and electrons and you certainly can
the bad molecule is actually CO2, which CAN definitely be split into carbon and oxygen. The trick is finding a cheap and stable carbon compound that won't turn back into CO2.
Grow some plants, trees or algae.
Yeah, hummus does exist. I ate a whole bowl of hummus this morning.
yes actually. it's called fossil fuels.
I clicked on this cuz I thought it was spongebob.
We could design GMO to make the job
first
lol!!
Until you all are willing to make sacrifices and pay more for an electric car, nothing is going to change. The onus is on each and every one of you to start making some sort of sacrifice.
INCLUDING all the big companies.
Not entirely true.
Do more hooha material
Yall need to talk about Ecosia they are a search engine that plants tress
So science is finally starting to admit that life and the existence of water keeps Earth from being like Venus and Mars?
I can only hope they start seeing this.
Weve always known that....
@@TotalDrganMania
What is the role of oceans here?
@@VariantAEC They act as carbon sponges
Such a monotone narration.
Let's give them some time
I thought Humus was some sort of Vegan or Vegetarian food. Now I'm confused( and still wouldn't want to eat it.)
You are confusing hummus and humos. Hummus is a thick sauce, mostly ground chick peas with some sesame seed paste.
Close minded people are the worst
😅
Without telling me, tell me academic and regulatory capture (not "carbon capture") are what dictate the rhetorical terminology employed to market itself as "Science".
U girls are getting more clever
No
Sometimes?
Every day
Ice or snow can trap carbon
stop real-estate