News Release

Soil carbon loss since advent of farming

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

A global soil model based on historical land use data estimates that agricultural land use has resulted in the loss of 133 Pg of carbon from the top 2 meters of soil over the past 12,000 years, and indicates hotspots of soil carbon loss that are often associated with major cropping or grazing regions, suggesting the existence of identifiable regions that could be targeted for soil carbon restoration.

Article #17-06103: "Soil carbon debt of 12,000 years of human land use," by Jonathan Sanderman, Tomislav Hengl, and Gregory J. Fiske.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Sanderman, Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA; tel: 508-444-1505; e-mail: <jsanderman@whrc.org>

###


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.