New research from the French National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment shows that sterilized soil continues to emit carbon dioxide for years after all microbial life is removed. This suggests that certain metabolic processes, typically associated with living cells, can occur as a natural feature of geology.
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This has massive implications for carbon accounting. If we are attributing all soil CO2 emissions to microbial activity, we might be miscalculating the baseline. We need to know how much of this abiotic emission is significant across different soil types before it changes policy.
Exactly. If the dirt breathes without microbes, the current models for soil carbon sequestration credits might be overestimating how much carbon is actually being locked away by biological means.
Interesting science, but I wonder about the scale. Is the rate of this abiotic emission high enough to actually move the needle on a global scale, or is it just a lab curiosity?
The paper mentions glucose augmented samples had higher rates. That suggests the chemistry depends on the available organic matter. It is probably a small fraction of total emissions, but it is a persistent baseline.
