The Answer Doesn't Lie in the Soil

Soils and the plants growing in them, are one of the largest terrestrial carbon sinks on the planet. Soils and plants store about a third of carbon emissions and both were assumed to limit climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide. When atmospheric carbon dioxide increases, so does plant growth. It was thought increased carbon storage would be seen in soils. Repeated studies carried out at Stanford University have, however, shown that carbon stored in soil declines, as plant growth increases (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/24/soils-ability-to-absorb-carbon-emissions-may-be-overestimated-study). Three times more carbon is stored in soils than in plants. The carbon can also remain in soils for centuries, whereas plants quickly rot. It is uncertain how large the effect of lower carbon storage in soils might be on the speed of climate change. The Stanford findings suggest, however, that ability of soils to limit climate change, have been over-estimated.