Hey there, curious minds! 🌟
Did you know there's a hidden treasure beneath our feet? No, it's not gold or diamonds—it's carbon! 🏔️🌱
For the longest time, scientists focused on soil organic carbon (SOC), the carbon from organic matter in the soil. But guess what? There's another player in town: soil inorganic carbon (SIC). 🧪
SIC, often in the form of calcium carbonate, tends to hang out in dry, arid regions with less fertile soils. Because of this, many people thought SIC wasn't a big deal. But a recent study is changing that perspective! 🌍
A team of researchers, led by Huang Yuanyuan from the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research and Zhang Ganlin from the Institute of Soil Science, both part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), just dropped some exciting news in the journal Science. They've quantified the global store of SIC and found it's a massive carbon reservoir! 💡
This finding challenges the long-held belief that SIC isn't important. It turns out, SIC could play a significant role in our planet's carbon cycle and climate change discussions. 🌡️🌐
So next time you're thinking about soil (we know you do! 😉), remember there's more beneath the surface than meets the eye!
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
