Move over, organic carbon—there’s a new player in the climate game! 🌱 A groundbreaking study has uncovered a massive hidden stockpile of soil inorganic carbon (SIC), challenging decades of environmental science assumptions.
While soil organic carbon (SOC) has long been the ‘it’ factor in climate models and farming strategies, SIC—think calcium carbonate in arid zones—was dismissed as a dusty relic. But researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences just crunched the numbers: Earth’s soils hold 2,305 billion tons of SIC—a carbon vault five times bigger than all land plants combined! 💥
Led by Huang Yuanyuan and Zhang Ganlin, the team’s Science journal paper reveals how SIC forms through mineral reactions and even traps CO₂. This changes everything for climate forecasts and soil health strategies, especially in dry regions. Who knew deserts could be secret climate allies? 🏜️🌍
Next time you kick dirt, remember: there’s more beneath your feet than meets the eye. 🔍✨
