Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 49-56 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | NATURE |
| Volume | 478 |
| Issue number | 7367 |
| Publication status | Published - 5 Oct 2011 |
Abstract
Globally, soil organic matter (SOM) contains more than three times as much carbon as either the atmosphere or terrestrial vegetation. Yet it remains largely unknown why some SOM persists for millennia whereas other SOM decomposes readily and this limits our ability to predict how soils will respond to climate change. Recent analytical and experimental advances have demonstrated that molecular structure alone does not control SOM stability: in fact, environmental and biological controls predominate. Here we propose ways to include this understanding in a new generation of experiments and soil carbon models, thereby improving predictions of the SOM response to global warming.
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: NATURE, Vol. 478, No. 7367, 05.10.2011, p. 49-56.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property
AU - Schmidt, Michael W.I.
AU - Torn, Margaret S.
AU - Abiven, Samuel
AU - Dittmar, Thorsten
AU - Guggenberger, Georg
AU - Janssens, Ivan A.
AU - Kleber, Markus
AU - Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid
AU - Lehmann, Johannes
AU - Manning, David A.C.
AU - Nannipieri, Paolo
AU - Rasse, Daniel P.
AU - Weiner, Steve
AU - Trumbore, Susan E.
N1 - Funding information: The European Science Foundation Network MOLTER sponsored the workshop at which the idea for this Perspective was conceived. Support for M.W.I.S. and M.S.T. was also provided by the US Department of Energy (contract no. DE-AC02-05CH11231).
PY - 2011/10/5
Y1 - 2011/10/5
N2 - Globally, soil organic matter (SOM) contains more than three times as much carbon as either the atmosphere or terrestrial vegetation. Yet it remains largely unknown why some SOM persists for millennia whereas other SOM decomposes readily and this limits our ability to predict how soils will respond to climate change. Recent analytical and experimental advances have demonstrated that molecular structure alone does not control SOM stability: in fact, environmental and biological controls predominate. Here we propose ways to include this understanding in a new generation of experiments and soil carbon models, thereby improving predictions of the SOM response to global warming.
AB - Globally, soil organic matter (SOM) contains more than three times as much carbon as either the atmosphere or terrestrial vegetation. Yet it remains largely unknown why some SOM persists for millennia whereas other SOM decomposes readily and this limits our ability to predict how soils will respond to climate change. Recent analytical and experimental advances have demonstrated that molecular structure alone does not control SOM stability: in fact, environmental and biological controls predominate. Here we propose ways to include this understanding in a new generation of experiments and soil carbon models, thereby improving predictions of the SOM response to global warming.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80053916851&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/nature10386
DO - 10.1038/nature10386
M3 - Review article
C2 - 21979045
AN - SCOPUS:80053916851
VL - 478
SP - 49
EP - 56
JO - NATURE
JF - NATURE
SN - 0028-0836
IS - 7367
ER -