A 37-year soil experiment revealed a hidden climate threat
A 37-year soil warming experiment in Harvard Forest has revealed that stable carbon stores in soil begin to decompose as temperatures rise, releasing more CO2 than previously anticipated. This finding suggests that forest soils may become a larger contributor to atmospheric carbon as global temperatures increase.
Why it matters
This research provides critical data for climate models, indicating that soil feedback loops could accelerate the pace of global warming.
After nearly 40 years of research, scientists have uncovered evidence that challenges a long held assumption about forest soils. The world's longest running soil warming experiment suggests that even carbon once considered stable can begin to break down as temperatures rise, releasing additional CO 2 into the atmosphere.
Jerry Melillo, a Distinguished Scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory, has spent the past 37 years studying heated plots in the Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts. Throughout the experiment, researchers kept the soil at 5 C above the surrounding ground year round.
According to Melillo, the team selected a five degree increase because it represented the upper range of global warming projections when the experiment began decades ago.
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