Archives 
  • 2006
    • August
      • Using enzymes to indicate a change in substrate decomposition
        08/29/06
        Several studies have attempted to determine the age of the carbon being respired from soil if ambient temperatures increase. Basic thermodynamics predicts increased temperature sensitivity of the older organic matter, because the energy of activation is higher to begin with and as temperature is in

      • Does decomposition temperature change the size of soil C fractions?
        08/28/06
        A general assumption in soil decomposition is that temperature affects the rate (k) of decomposition and that k increases with increasing temperature. Along these same lines it is generally assumed that the size of the different soil fractions is constant regardless of the decomposition temperature

      • Challenges to enhancing the Century plant production submodel
        08/23/06
        As part of an NACP project led by Steve Ogle, we plan are integrating remote sensing-based estimates of plant production (RSPP) into the Century model. The challenge of this activity is that the Century plant production (CPP) submodel is intricately linked to other components of the model: plant C a

      • what to do about my CO2 emissions?
        08/11/06
        According to the BP carbon footprint calculator (click here), my family and I emit slightly more CO2 (23 tonnes/yr) than the average American family (18.58 tonnes/yr). Our emissions are from transportation (autos: ~9 tonnes/yr; airplanes: ~8 tonnes/yr), household energy use (5 tonnes/yr), and waste

      • Terra preta nova
        08/09/06
        There is a news item in Nature (click here; subscription required; see also Agecoblog 7/25 entry) today reporting on the potential for C sequestration while building new terra preta soils. The potential is huge - if you look at how much C terra preta soils contain relative to other soils (250 versus

      • Where does SOM come from?
        08/08/06
        The standard model is that leaf litter falls to the soil surface and their breaks down. During breakdown, some of it moves into the soil either as dissolved organic matter or as particulate organic matter. But there are a few lines of evidence suggesting that this isn't really the way things wo

    • July