Oct. 1, 2014
Researchers at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences have determined that soils in the Sunshine State store more carbon than acreage anywhere else in the continental U.S. Carbon stored in soils slows greenhouse gas emissions, a process under study in investigations of global temperature trends.
The UF/IFAS study has involved measurements of land use, types of land cover—from asphalt to water and trees—and climate conditions. Warm temperatures and wet soils enhance carbon storage, thus making Florida a vital containment area.
Sugarcane produced in the Everglades Agricultural Area near Lake Okeechobee and wetlands throughout the state store the largest volumes of carbon.
Results of the study appear in the September 2014 issue of the journal Science of the Total Environment. For more information, contact Sabine Grunwald, a UF/IFAS soil and water science expert, at [email protected].