Global warming changing organic matter in soil, and atmosphere could change as a result

University of Toronto News: New research shows that we should be looking to the ground, not the sky, to see where climate change could have its most perilous impact on life on Earth. Scientists at the University of Toronto Scarborough have published research findings in the prestigious journal, Nature Geoscience, that show global warming actually changes the molecular structure of organic matter in soil.

"Soil contains more than twice the amount of carbon than does the atmosphere, yet, until now, scientists haven't examined this significant carbon pool closely," said Professor Myrna Simpson of environmental chemistry at UTSC, principal investigator of the study. "Through our research, we've sought to determine what soils are made up of at the molecular level and whether this composition will change in a warmer world."

…"From the perspective of agriculture, we can't afford to lose carbon from the soil because it will change soil fertility and enhance erosion" Simpson said. "Alternatively, consider all the carbon locked up in permafrost in the Arctic. We also need to understand what will happen to the stored carbon when microbes become more active under warmer temperatures."…

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