YCNCC SCIENTISTS EXPLORE THE EFFECT OF ENHANCED WEATHERING ON SOIL ORGANIC CARBON LEVELS IN CROPLANDS

Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture (YCNCC) Scientific Leadership Team member Eric Slessarev and YCNCC Faculty Affiliate and Yale School of the Environment (YSE) Associate Research Scientist Maya Alamaraz co-authored an important new article in Biogeochemistry Letters exploring the effect of enhanced rock weathering (ERW) deployment on soil organic carbon (SOC) levels in croplands. Yale graduate Noah Sokol (PhD, 2018) served as lead author of the work, and Yale graduate Jennifer Pett-Ridge (MFS, 1996; BA, 1994) was a co-author. Both Sokol and Pett-Ridge are scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL).

The research, conducted on an initial sample of sites in California, shows evidence of reduced accrual of SOC in longer-term stores (i.e. those that are more durable) with ERW deployments on croplands. Although no overall loss of SOC was detected, the study has potentially significant implications for ERW MRV, and underlines the importance of taking a full systems view when determining the net efficacy of climate interventions. 

While the findings are significant, Slessarev stresses that “really this is just a first look at the issue…it will be interesting to see how ERW affects SOC in other environments, particularly in acid soils.” Almaraz adds that “understanding the long-term effects of ERW on SOC will also be key,” and that the research underlines “the need to more fully incorporate SOC into ERW models, which currently focus on soil inorganic carbon (SIC).”

With strong teams of YCNCC scientists working on both ERW and SOC, stay tuned for more research into the relation between these two vital methods of natural carbon capture.