In a new find, researchers have revealed that our Earth has the potential to curb the world’s largest problem — Global Warming. According to scientists, Earth soil has the capability to store an extra 8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas than previously thought. Since greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide are the major contributors to the global average temperature rise thus, reduction in greenhouse gases could greatly help in limiting the effect of climate change.
Scientists believe that by proper and sustainable land use and latest technologies on the global scale can help farmland and other spaces like forests to store more greenhouse gases that are emitted into our atmosphere.
Scientists from the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh in the UK, estimated that around four-fifth of annual emissions released by the burning of fossils fuels can be curbed just by growing crops with deeper root systems, using charcoal-based composts and implementing sustainable agricultural method that will enable Earth’s soil to absorb more amount of greenhouse gases.
Previously, this hidden capability of soil was overlooked by the scientists due to lack of effective monitoring tools. However, study authors said that the recent advancement in the technology has helped them in identifying the potential of soil. Apparently, they have constructed a roadmap in order to apply the sustainable techniques to curb the global warming for the betterment of Earth and mankind eventually.
While releasing the data in public, scientists said that presently Earth’s soil contains around 2.4 trillion tonnes of greenhouse gases that are locked in as an organic matter and scientists believe that with the proper implementation, the soil can hold extra 8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases.
“Soils are already huge stores of carbon, and improved management can make them even bigger,” said Dave Reay from the University of Edinburgh. “With the surge in availability of ‘big data’ on soils around the world, alongside rapid improvements in understanding and modelling, the time has come for this big-hitter to enter the ring,” said Reay. “It is difficult to easily measure changes in soil carbon as changes are slow and we are trying to measure a small change against a large background,” said Pete Smith from the University of Aberdeen. The findings were published in the journal Nature.
The study appeared in the journal Nature.
