22-Fast microbes regulate slow soil feedbacks

22-Fast microbes regulate slow soil feedbacksnews&viewsBIOGEOCHEMISTRYFastmicrobesregulateslowsoilfeedbacksEarth’sfutureclimatedepends,inpart,onrapidsoilmicrobialprocessesthatmayadduptolong-termimpacts.Observationsfromageothermalgradientrevealdecadalincreasesinsoil-carbonlossduetopersistentincreasesinmicrobialactivity.ElisePendallTheglobalsoil-carbon(soilC)poolrepresentsapotentiallyverylargefeedbacktotheclimatesystem,becauseitsdecompositionincreasesexponentiallywithtemperature.ThisisconcerningbecausesoilrespirationistheprocessthattranfersthemostCO2fromlandtotheatmosphere.MostsoilCaccumulatesoveraperiodofseveraldecades,makingitchallengingtodetectchangesovershort-termstudies(lessthanadecade).WritinginNatureClimateChange,Walkeretal.tackledthisproblem1bycollectingsamplesfromacrossnaturalgeothermalgradientsinIceland,wheresoilshavebeenwarmedforyearstocenturies.Theirworkshowsthatshort-termmicrobialprocessesleadtolong-termsoilClosses,butthattheselossescanbemitigatedbystabilizingfeedbackswithin