![]() The rapid conversion of wild areas to agricultural ones will reduce the amount of carbon stored in the soil, she said.Īnd that’s only part of the problem. That limits the growth of the underground fungal matrix, resulting in soil erosion and ultimately more carbon winding up back in the atmosphere.Ĭompared with native plants, fertilized crops send only about one-fourth as much carbon underground, Kiers said. If plants can get their nutrients from fertilizers, they become less dependent on the mycorrhizal fungi. “After they die, they make ‘necromass,’ a dead underground network that acts as a scaffolding to hold the soil together,” locking the carbon in place.īut fertilizers interfere with this relationship. Not only do the fungi take in carbon from plants, they also help keep that carbon safely below ground by creating a sticky compound that holds the soil together, preventing erosion.Īlthough mycorrhizal fungi have short life spans - only a few years - their usefulness doesn’t end after death. “These mutualisms can act as a critical carbon sink in many terrestrial ecosystems,” she said. Stephanie Kivlin, an ecologist at University of Tennessee, said the study is a crucial step toward improving our understanding of the plant-fungi duo’s role in reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The study results can improve the accuracy of climate models and help scientists better predict what would happen if the fungi were lost in the future, she said. “But mycorrhizal fungi have not been explicitly evaluated for their role in this carbon sink, which could help inform land use planning and conservation.” “We know that soil is an important carbon sink,” said Heidi-Jayne Hawkins, a plant eco-physiology researcher at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and the study’s lead author. The authors cautioned that their calculation is an estimate, adding that they suspect the fungi are probably receiving more carbon than they were able to account for. The study represents the first attempt to quantify the total amount of carbon being transferred to mycorrhizal fungi across the globe. What I found will haunt me foreverĪ visit to Death Valley National Park has profound consequences for a veteran of extreme temperature. If you choose to do business with this business, please let the business know that you contacted BBB for a BBB Business Profile.Īs a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business.California I searched hell on Earth for a story. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.īBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.īBB Business Profiles are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment.
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