Do microbes hold the key to locking up more carbon in soils?

Globally, soils store more carbon than plants and the atmosphere combined, meaning that small changes in the amount of carbon stored by or released from soils will have a large impact on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Microorganisms play a crucial role in regulating the size of the soil carbon pool, through their activities which break down organic matter. However, at the same time as breaking down organic matter and causing carbon loss, microbes also transform organic matter into forms that may be more persistent and readily stabilized. In this lecture, I will explain how and why microorganisms hold the key to locking up carbon, potentially contributing to long-term carbon sequestration in soils.