Soil aggregates as biogeochemical reactors: Not a way forward in the research on soil-atmosphere exchange of greenhouse gases

Glob Chang Biol. 2019 Jul;25(7):2205-2208. doi: 10.1111/gcb.14640. Epub 2019 Apr 29.

Abstract

The goal of this comment is to show that the "aggregate reactor" framework recently proposed in an article published in this journal is severely limited by two kinds of indeterminacy. The first is related to the size of aggregates, which is not defined precisely. The second issue is with the impossibility to replicate boundary conditions that are identical to what chunks of soils would have experienced in their natural state. We suggest that the study of GHG release in undisturbed soil samples is a better way to proceed forward.

Publication types

  • Letter
  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Atmosphere
  • Greenhouse Gases*
  • Methane / analysis
  • Soil

Substances

  • Greenhouse Gases
  • Soil
  • Methane