Researchers Discovered Unique Potential Of Arctic Soil; They Can Fight Against Climate Change

The Earth’s soils contain approximately 2,500 gigatons of carbon, over thrice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

Scientifically, fertile soils hold more moisture, produce more food, and promote biodiversity. Even it is less susceptible to erosion or floods, desertification and nutrient loss. Arctic soils encompass over 80% of the land area in Arctic and boreal biomes. The collaborative research between scientists from Finland, Canada, USA, and Germany under University of Eastern Finland and the University of Montreal came out with some exciting findings to combat climate change. The research study, conducted at Trail Valley Creek, a well-known tundra zone in the Western Canadian Arctic, to measure continuous methane flux has shown some remarkable findings about the potential of Arctic soil.

The recent findings:

The study, through complex biogeochemical mechanisms, showed that the "strongest methane uptake coincided with peaks of ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO2) respiration," as mentioned in the reported article on Nature Climate Change journal.

It was also observed that methane uptake rate is highest in the afternoons, when the soil temperature is high. Researchers also noticed that methane uptake by soil increases during dry surroundings. It also increases with the availability of labile carbon substrates. These findings may help evaluating the Arctic methane budget in current scenario alongside predicting the future response of Arctic soil methane uptake under rapid climate change scenario.

Have a look on the video describing the experiment.

Is there any solution to climate change?

There are numerous strategies suggested by scientists to reduce carbon dioxide concentration from the atmosphere. However,

methods like sequestering the carbon emissions from biofuel-burning power plants, or even planting a whole new forests for carbon absorption are associated with lot of upscaling issues. The amount of space or land required to achieve these methods hard to get, and also expensive to arrange and energy-consuming.

Suggetion by IPCC:

"To avoid the most dangerous effects of climate change, the Paris Accord recommends limiting global warming to less than 2˚ C above pre-industrial levels. Achieving that will likely involve removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

What Experts think?

"Thinking about ways to increase soil carbon storage is a really important weapon in the arsenal [against climate change]," said Ben Taylor, an ecosystem ecologist and Ph.D. candidate in Columbia University’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology. "The carbon in soils is greater than all the carbon in our biomass and the atmosphere combined, so even small changes in that pool are going to have really large effects for us. If we can figure out how to manage that soil carbon pool size, it could be really effective," he told.

Overall, the most effective way to mitigate climate change is reduction of fossil fuel consumption and focusing more on renewable energy sources. However, researchers will continue to study importance of Arctic soil on climate change. Meanwhile, the modern agricultural practices and land management methods to increase soil carbon also provide various benefits.

Arctic wetlands are also crucial:

Arctic wetlands are an integral component of the global climate system. They are generally observed in the Arctic region, like parts of Russia, Canada, Greenland, Alaska of USA, and the Scandinavian countries. These wetlands are characterized by waterlogged soils and unique vegetation adapted to cold and water-saturated conditions. However, they are equally important in sequestration of carbon dioxide.

Capturing carbon in soil, is a natural way of reducing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, this method is energy and cost-efficient. Improved land management along with agriculturqal practices will store more carbon in soil and help combating global warming.