Technique tests soil CO2 emissions

Almost £500,000 has been awarded to scientists who want to see if climate change could affect the levels of CO₂ released from Europe's soils.

The Natural Environment Research Council grant will enable Prof David Robinson and Prof Pete Smith from the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Aberdeen University, and Prof Pete Millard and Dr Andy Midwood of the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute to test if soils are likely to release more CO₂ if Europe's climate changes.

Increases in atmospheric CO₂ are a main driver of climate change, and a potentially large source of CO₂ is in the organic matter in soil. If the climate warms up or becomes wetter this might encourage soil microbes to produce more CO₂ that will enter the atmosphere.

The researchers will use a novel technique developed at the Macaulay Institute to determine whether CO₂ is being released from young organic matter in soil – mainly dead plant remains – or from much older material: so-called 'historical' soil organic matter.