Access

Letter

Nature Geoscience 1, 832–835 (1 December 2008) | doi:10.1038/ngeo358

Australian climate|[ndash]|carbon cycle feedback reduced by soil black carbon

Johannes Lehmann , Jan Skjemstad , Saran Sohi , John Carter , Michele Barson , Pete Falloon , Kevin Coleman , Peter Woodbury & Evelyn Krull

Annual emissions of carbon dioxide from soil organic carbon are an order of magnitude greater than all anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions taken together. Global warming is likely to increase the decomposition of soil organic carbon, and thus the release of carbon dioxide from soils, creating a positive feedback.