\u201cThis\nstudy was novel because we used new methods to directly track the soil carbon\nlosses, and they were much higher than we previously thought,\u201d Schuur said. \u201cThis\nsuggests that not only is carbon being lost through greenhouse gases directly\nto the atmosphere but also dissolved in waters that flow through the soil and\nlikely carried carbon into streams, leaves and rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This study\nquantifies soil carbon in relation to a fixed ash content, which uses the\nmineral component of soil as a metric for pool comparisons over time, which\nenabled the team to get direct measurements of changes in soil carbon. They\nused this approach to directly measure soil carbon pool changes in a five-year period,\nshowing an annual loss of more than 5 percent of soil carbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As almost\na third of the Earth\u2019s surface soil carbon is trapped in the permafrost, this indicates\ngreater ramifications not only in the present, but also as the world copes with\nclimate change in the near future. Scientists who study the permafrost see a\ncycle: higher temperatures lead to more of the permafrost thawing, which leads\nto the release of soil carbon into the atmosphere, which leads to higher\ntemperatures, which leads to permafrost thaw, and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
According\nto the study, 5 to 15 percent of the soil carbon held in the permafrost could\nbe released into the atmosphere by the end of the century, using the current scenario.\nThe modelling exercise the research team used to\ncompare agreed with the observations but suggests that the loss rate could be twofold\nor more higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur\nresults demonstrate the potential for repeated measurements that quantify\nchanges in soil carbon across the entire permafrost region to better understand\nits environmental fate,\u201d the study reads. \u201cAn effort such as this is a critical\nand currently overlooked link to determine the magnitude of the terrestrial\npermafrost carbon to climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Connecting\nall the pieces to climate change will be an important factor as global society\nattempts to combat its effects, Schuur said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is critical because carbon lost from these ecosystems ends up in the atmosphere and can accelerate climate change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"graphic](\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Schuur-ice-subsidence-figure-1024x982.jpg\")
Credit: \u00a0Victor O. Leshyk, Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"NAU](\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/NAU_primary-281_3514-1-e1536853679171.png\")
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Heidi Toth | NAU Communications
(928) 523-8737 | heidi.toth@nau.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"