Researchers report the results of an eight-year experiment in grassland plant communities enriching carbon dioxide levels from pre-industrial to projected mid-21st century levels, and found that enrichment increased the amount of carbon dioxide released from soils into the atmosphere, but that the amount released depended on feedbacks from soil moisture and plant turnover, a finding suggesting that multiple feedbacks likely determine the impact of climate change on grasslands.
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Article #20-08284:
"Multiple constraints cause positive and negative feedbacks limiting grassland soil CO2 efflux under CO2 enrichment," by Philip A. Fay et al.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Philip A. Fay,
Agricultural Research Service,
Temple, TX;
tel: 254-770-6533, 512-635-3035;
e-mail: <philip.fay@usda.gov>