Carbon losses from all soils across England and Wales 1978-2003

• Published in: Nature Vol. 437; no. 7056; pp. 245 - 248
• Main Authors: Bellamy, P.H, Loveland, P.J, Bradley, R.I, Lark, R.M, Kirk, G.J.D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing 08.09.2005; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: agricultural soils; biogeochemical cycles; Carbon; Carbon - metabolism; Carbon Dioxide - metabolism; carbon sequestration; Climate change; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Ecosystem; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; England; Exact sciences and technology; global carbon budget; grassland soils; Greenhouse Effect; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Linear Models; long term experiments; longitudinal studies; non-agricultural soils; Poaceae - physiology; Pollution, environment geology; Soil - analysis; Soil Microbiology; soil organic carbon; soil organic matter; Soils; Surficial geology; surveys; Temperature; temporal variation; Wales; Water - analysis; England; Wales; United Kingdom; Great Britain; Western Europe; United Kingdom > UK; British Isles, England; British Isles, Wales; feedback; carbon dioxide; climate modification; land use; mass balance; atmospheric emission; absorption; Europe; carbon; temperature; atmosphere-vegetation-soil interaction; soils
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/nature04038

More than twice as much carbon is held in soils as in vegetation or the atmosphere, and changes in soil carbon content can have a large effect on the global carbon budget. The possibility that climate change is being reinforced by increased carbon dioxide emissions from soils owing to rising temperature is the subject of a continuing debate. But evidence for the suggested feedback mechanism has to date come solely from small-scale laboratory and field experiments and modelling studies. Here we use data from the National Soil Inventory of England and Wales obtained between 1978 and 2003 to show that carbon was lost from soils across England and Wales over the survey period at a mean rate of 0.6% yr-1 (relative to the existing soil carbon content). We find that the relative rate of carbon loss increased with soil carbon content and was more than 2% yr-1 in soils with carbon contents greater than 100 g kg-1. The relationship between rate of carbon loss and carbon content is irrespective of land use, suggesting a link to climate change. Our findings indicate that losses of soil carbon in England and Wales--and by inference in other temperate regions--are likely to have been offsetting absorption of carbon by terrestrial sinks.