Redwood Reader

This is a brand new study that supports CO2 Science claims that elevated CO2 will be absorbed by biological systems. Knowing this we can harness it into forms we want or need, like reforestation. The release of CO2 from soils as dust is interesting to see included. We are glad to see forest studies appearing, especially in connection with climate science. Still, the need to quantify glomalin and carbon storage in forest systems is only emerging. The role of CO2 in gluing landscapes together hasn't been investigated, although I am sure someone is starting to wonder why revegetation should restore devastated ecosytems so well.
Source: Boston College
Date: 2004-06-18
URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040618065651.htm

CO2 Fertilization May Be Slowing Global Warming
CHESTNUT HILL, MA (6-17-04) --- A Boston College scientist has published new research introducing the concept of a CO2 fertilization factor for soil carbon, a way to measure an ecosystem's ability to store carbon in response to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The study, authored by Kevin G. Harrison, an assistant professor in Boston College's Geology and Geophysics Department, has serious implications for scientists examining global climate change who have long sought information on missing carbon sinks.

His research appears in the May 2004 Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (G3), an electronic journal published by the American Geophysical Union, which showcases discoveries in geophysics and geochemistry that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries and approach the Earth as a system.

Harrison's research says that CO2 fertilization may be slowing down the expected accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by increasing carbon accumulation in terrestrial vegetation and soil.

"I have determined a CO2 fertilization factor of 1.18 for a white oak ecosystem using soil carbon and radiocarbon measurements. If major terrestrial ecosystems have similar values, CO2 fertilization may be transferring enough carbon from the atmosphere to the soil to balance the global carbon budget," according to Harrison.

"It is my hope that these concepts will be used by global change geochemists worldwide," writes Harrison. Samples for the study were collected from a white oak experiment at the Global Change Field Research Site in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The research has been funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Harrison's research focuses on the effects of fossil fuel combustion, dust and deforestation on the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. At Boston College, he teaches courses on "Biogeochemistry of the Habitable Planet"; "Environmental Geochemistry: Living Dangerously," and "Global Warming." He earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry at Brown University. He received a master's degree in marine chemistry from the University of California at San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and master's and doctoral degrees in geological sciences from Columbia University.


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This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Boston College.