News Headline

Study finds reduced feeding activity of soil detritivores under warmer and drier conditions

Source
Phys.org

Publication Date
2017-12-21

When the soil warms up, it releases more carbon dioxide (CO2)—an effect that fuels climate change. Until now, it had been assumed that this was mainly due to the presence of small soil-dwelling animals and microorganisms that would eat and breathe more in warmer temperatures. However, a new study in Nature Climate Change has shown that this is not the case. If warmth is accompanied by drought, the soil animals eat even less. In order to improve the predictive power of climate models, it is now crucial to understand biological processes in the soil better, say the scientists.

Content
https://phys.org/news/2017-12-soil-detritivores-warmer-drier-conditions.html