What is the ‘natural’ level of CO2 in the atmosphere? What was present before the Carboniferous Period, or afterwards? The conditions that created coal were generally different from today. The CO2 was not able to participate in the Carbon Cycle. However, think about the process by which fossil fuels were created: large amounts of CO2 were removed from the atmosphere and temporarily sequestered. The one thing that you were correct about is the difference in the rate of release naturally and through the activities of Man. Seeps of natural gas and crude oil have always been a part of the geological release - think La Brea Tar Pits in downtown Los Angeles.Īnywhere that uplift has taken place, such as in the Appalachian Mountains, coal will be exposed to the air, and possibly lightning. Direct oxidation, and breakdown by bacteria (as you point out) will produce CO2. However, fossil fuels don’t have to burn to release CO2. While many of them are the result of mining, particularly in China, there have always been coal fires since life invaded the land. Weisser, Sungsoo Yoon, Naili Zhang and Jörg Müller, 1 September 2021, Nature.Īctually, coal and peat fires throughout the world are a significant contributor to the CO2 flux. Stork, Byambagerel Suran, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, Simon Thorn, Ganesh Thyagarajan, Timothy J. Rakotondranary, Jean-Baptiste Ramanamanjato, Liana Rossi, Jürgen Schmidl, Mark Schulze, Stephen Seaton, Marisa J. Mukul, Baatarbileg Nachin, Kurtis Nisbet, John O’Halloran, Anne Oxbrough, Jeev Nath Pandey, Tomáš Pavlíček, Stephen M. Habel, Christian Hébert, Christoph Heibl, Osmo Heikkala, Andreas Hemp, Claudia Hemp, Joakim Hjältén, Stefan Hotes, Jari Kouki, Thibault Lachat, Jie Liu, Yu Liu, Ya-Huang Luo, Damasa M. Fernández, Jennifer Firn, Kee Seng Gan, Grizelle González, Martin M. Cakpo-Tossou, Jorge Castro, Eugénie Cateau, Tyler P. Bergamin, Tone Birkemoe, Gergely Boros, Roland Brandl, Hervé Brustel, Philip J. Adhikari, Roxana Aragón, Soyeon Bae, Petr Baldrian, Hassan Barimani Varandi, Jos Barlow, Claus Bässler, Jacques Beauchêne, Erika Berenguer, Rodrigo S. Reference: “The contribution of insects to global forest deadwood decomposition” by Sebastian Seibold, Werner Rammer, Torsten Hothorn, Rupert Seidl, Michael D. “This study has demonstrated that both climate change and the loss of insects have the potential to alter the decomposition of wood, and therefore, carbon and nutrient cycles worldwide.” “At a time of global change, we can see some dramatic declines in biodiversity and changes in climate,” Dr.
Sebastian Seibold from the Technical University of Munich. Tropical forests contribute 93 percent of all carbon released by deadwood, due to their high wood mass and rapid rates of decomposition. Higher levels of precipitation accelerate the decomposition in warmer regions and slow it down in lower temperature regions.” “We found both the rate of decomposition and the contribution of insects are highly dependent on the climate, and will increase as temperatures rise. “Half the wood was placed in mesh cages which kept out insects, allowing us to study their contribution,” Professor Lindenmayer said. The research team studied wood from more than 140 tree species to determine the influence of climate on the rate of decomposition. The global research project encompassed 55 forest areas on six continents.
However, their role was disproportionately greater within the tropics and had little effect in regions of low temperatures.” “Insects accounted for 29% of deadwood carbon release each year. “But until now, we didn’t know how much they contribute to deadwood carbon release globally. Marisa Stone from Griffith University said. “We knew insects such as termites and wood-boring Longicorn beetles can accelerate deadwood decomposition,” study co-author Dr. The research showed decomposition can’t happen without wood-boring insects such as Longicorn Beetles. “The decomposition of wood and the recycling of those nutrients is a critically important process in forests,” he said. Professor Lindenmayer said the decomposition is driven by natural processes including temperature and insects. But up until now, we didn’t know what happens when those trees decompose. “We know living trees play a vital role in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. “Until now, little has been known about the role of dead trees,” Professor Lindenmayer said.