What determines whether carbon dioxide is stored in or emitted from the soil?
Soil carbon found in the soil results from many processes and factors. Fundamentally it is increased by factors that enhance photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light energy from the sun and carbon dioxide from the air into various carbon-based products such as sugars and cellulose, and decreased by factors that enhance the respiration of the products of photosynthesis back into carbon dioxide. In general, carbon storage in soil is increased by a greater production of roots and lower activity of the abundant but tiny microorganisms in soil that decompose dead roots and convert them back into carbon dioxide.
