Environment
Livestock grazing may boost soil carbon storage in Iceland's subarctic grasslands
Key Points
Grassland plants transfer large amounts of carbon to soil through their roots, and most of that carbon is stored underground. Therefore, promoting soil carbon storage can help combat climate change. Grazers feed on grassland plants, and conventional wisdom often assumes that removing grazers benefits carbon storage, but a new study in Global Change Biology Communications reveals that the opposite may be the case.
Grassland plants transfer large amounts of carbon to soil through their roots, and most of that carbon is stored underground. Therefore, promoting soil carbon storage can help combat climate change. Grazers feed on grassland plants, and conventional wisdom often assumes that removing grazers benefits carbon storage, but a new study in Global Change Biology Communications reveals that the opposite may be the case.