In the absence of human interference, the soil beneath the world’s forests normally exhales carbon steadily and consistently.
In the absence of human interference, the soil beneath the world’s forests normally exhales carbon steadily and consistently. But new research shows that increasing nitrogen pollution is disrupting this ancient rhythm in surprising and uneven ways.
On a cool spring morning in a northern forest, the ground feels soft underfoot. Mist hangs between the trunks, and the air smells of wet leaves and old humus; the slow alchemy that keeps a forest alive.
Beneath the surface, billions of microbes break down organic matter and hair-thin roots exhale, releasing steady pulses of carbon dioxide. This process, known as soil respiration, is one of the largest carbon fluxes on the planet, usually so stable it feels almost like a steady heartbeat.
But in many forests around the world, that heartbeat is changing.
Read More: Aarhus University
Photo Credit: Bergadder via Pixabay
