NEWS
Team develops new method of hunting for carbon in soil without digging or taking soil samples
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Current Address : Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Reprinted from : https :// bit . ly / 3z9hDEm
Physicists and soil scientists at the Department of Energy ' s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ( Berkeley Lab ) have teamed up to develop a new method for finding carbon stored in the soil by plants and microbes . Unlike all previous methods , this new technique makes it possible to see the carbon in the dirt without digging holes or taking soil samples , like an X-ray for the soil . This new method for measuring carbon pulled out of the air promises to be an important tool for fighting climate change and developing more ecologically friendly forms of agriculture .
" What this instrument really enables is repeated measurements over time ," said Arun Persaud , a Berkeley Lab physicist and one of the leaders of the team . " With our instrument , you can get a very accurate and fast measurement of the total carbon in an acre of land , without disturbing the soil or harming the organisms that live there ."
A plant transfers carbon into the soil as a natural part of its life cycle . Plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen ( which we animals then breathe in ). The carbon remains in the plant , used to build molecules and cells it needs to live . A large fraction of that carbon ultimately enters the soil through the plant ' s roots . Microbes in the soil then take this carbon and turn it into organic matter that can persist for decades , centuries , or longer .
Plants and soil microbes play a key role in the Earth ' s carbon cycle — a cycle that humans have drastically altered . Burning fossil fuels heats up the planet
Figure 1 . Soil imaging with neutrons can give a quick , detailed look at the amount and distribution of carbon ( and certain other important elements ) in soil without disturbing the soil or plant roots . Credit : Berkeley Lab
quickly . Human land use for agriculture has depleted organic matter in the soil , resulting in an enormous soil carbon deficit that also contributes to climate change .
Pulling large amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere is a vital component in virtually all plans to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius or less . This need is the impetus behind Berkeley Lab ' s
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