A new study describes inconsistencies in how different Earth system models predict soil carbon levels in a warming climate.
soils
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Our Breathing Earth: A Review of Soil Respiration Science
A new synopsis details how the past 20 years have changed our understanding of soil respiration and revealed its critical effects on the climate system.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Pre-Season Wet Soil Produces Fire-Prone Conditions
The SMAP satellite shows that wetter-than-normal soil five months prior to wildfires in the western United States increases fuel availability and fire activity when desiccation occurs.
Posted inNews
Electrified Soil Powers Plant Growth
Five days of low-power electricity directed to the roots of young plants boosted their growth by more than 50%.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
New Tracers of Wind Erosion Provide Insight into Dryland Vegetation
Rare earth element tracers provide insight into how fire and wind transport influence the vegetation state of the world’s drylands.
Posted inNews
Postfire Debris Flows Strike in a Puzzling Pattern
California geologists are improving their understanding and forecasting of which slopes in wildfire-burned areas might fail during heavy rainstorms.
Posted inNews
Quartz-Gobbling Worms Are Weathering Earth’s Soils
New research in mineral weathering shows that earthworms may be an important contributor to Earth’s weathering cycle.
Posted inNews
Affordable Robots Measure Soil Respiration
Measuring soil carbon flux, also known as soil respiration, can be expensive or time-consuming. A set of affordable robots that gather these data autonomously could especially benefit the Global South.
Posted inNews
Fire Histories May Be Written on Grains of Sand
Tiny bits of quartz record the intensity of fires from hundreds or even thousands of years ago, potentially offering new ways to study historic fires and how heat affects soil.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Sulfur is Demanding its Place in Crop Nutrient Budgeting
Scientists advocate for a more significant consideration of sulfur from a multidisciplinary perspective as a necessary step towards sustainable crop management.