In many regions of the world, farming must be done on areas of soil categorized as histosols. Histosols have a thick layer of rich organic matter, called peat.
Scientists are concerned, because farming can cause these soils to lose valuable carbon.
That’s where Jacynthe Dessureault-Rompré and her team at Laval University in Canada come in. She is trying to show that histosols can be sustainably used for farming.
To do this, the research team performed a two-step experiment that involved adding different kinds of plant material to the soil. Their work is similar to how a backyard gardener may add compost to soil to add nutrients that have been lost.
“The first objective was to get a better understanding of plant material decomposition,” Dessureault-Rompré says. "We looked at decomposition qualities of specific plant materials and how these affected long-term carbon stores in the soil. The second objective was to determine which plant performed best based on simulations of the long-term soil carbon storage.”
Read more at American Society Of Agronomy
Image: In this field with histosol soil, miscanthus was added as a form of organic matter. It is a type of biomass crop they studied to see if it can add carbon to the soil. Credit: Jacynthe Dessureault-Rompré