The lasting influence humans have on Earth’s critical zone—and how geologic forces have mediated those influences—is revealed in studies of soil and carbon migration.
soils
Life Teems Below the Surface
Scientists are resolving how plants, microbes, and lithology sculpt the structure of the critical zone.
Using Dirt to Clean Up Construction
The construction industry is one of the world’s largest emitters of carbon dioxide. Whether it can reduce those emissions depends on replacing its most common building material.
Coastal Sediment Deficit Appears Smaller Than Previously Thought
With a deficit of sediment needed to compensate for relative sea level rise, a new study demonstrates that organic material cannot be ignored in evaluating mass and volume accumulation rates.
Downhill from Here: Landscape Positions and Greenhouse Emissions
In comparing soils from two tundra wetland landscape positions, landscape position is found to matter, and toeslopes are associated with higher greenhouse gas production.
Soil Remains Warmer and Drier After Long-term Warming Stops
Pausing a long-term soil warming experiment revealed that previously warmed plots remained both warmer and drier compared to plots which had not experienced previous soil warming.
Geology and Chemistry Drive Animal Migration in the Serengeti
Fieldwork in Tanzania suggests that soil chemistry—influenced by local volcanism and tectonic activity—might help dictate the record-setting migration of over a million wildebeests.
Hardwood Forest Soils Are Sinks for Plant-Produced Volatiles
New research identifies temperature, moisture, and soil fungi as important factors in influencing how biogenic volatile organic compounds cycle between plants and the atmosphere.
El Compostaje Humano es el Camino Ecológico a Seguir
Nuestro impacto ambiental no desaparece cuando morimos, pero existe una forma de convertir este impacto en algo positivo.
Floating Patches of Soil Nutrients in Soil Help Explain Arctic Thawing
Nutrient-rich diapirs have a complex relationship with soil microbes and play an important role in carbon and nitrogen nutrient cycling, making them crucial for understanding feedbacks in the Arctic.