Tibbett continues his discussion on carbon accumulation and microbial function in soils. He focuses his presentation on the quality and quantity of carbon in soil. In particular, there is an interest in putting recalcitrant carbon into soil, as it does not decay. Currently, it is not known how this can be done naturally.
While carbon quantity is one aspect of soil health, Tibbett also discusses the importance of nutrient cycling, structural formation and plant interactions. He discusses his hypothesis: soil microbial function in rehabilitated land will develop towards a native forest benchmark over time. And his conclusion, that there is some evidence that suggests there is some self-organization in soils as carbon isotopes begin to express what is typically found in the natural forest systems. Carbon is accumulated in the soils of post-mining reforestation schemes, but a large percentage of the carbon accumulated may be labile and rapidly oxidize to CO2.
This presentation is a part of the Alberta Soil Science Workshop from February 2014.
