This may be of interest
If glomalin stores 1/3 + of the world's carbon. . .?!!!!!!
Glomalin on the Web
Glomalin hiding place for a third of the world's stored soil carbon
Agricultural Research, Sept, 2002 by Don Comis
A sticky protein seems to be the unsung hero of soil carbon storage.Until its discovery in 1996 by ARS soil scientist Sara F. Wright, this soil "super glue" was mistaken for an unidentifiable constituent of soil organic matter.
Rather, it permeates organic matter, binding it to silt, sand, and clay particles.
Not only does glomalin contain 30 to 40 percent carbon, but it also forms clumps of soil granules called aggregates. These add structure to soil and keep other stored soil carbon from escaping.
As a glycoprotein, glomalin stores carbon in both its protein and carbohydrate (glucose or sugar) subunits.
Glomalin hiding place for a third of the world's stored soil carbon Agricultural Research - Find Articles
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WASHINGTON - A sticky protein shed by fungi living on plant roots is responsible for absorbing and storing sizable amounts of the carbon dioxide pollution linked to global warming, U.S. Agriculture Department scientists said.
The protein, glomalin, glues soil particles and organic matter together which stabilizes soil and keeps carbon from escaping into the atmosphere.
Planet Ark : Rich soil good for trapping carbon dioxide - study
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Charcoal in soil acts as a substrate for fungi which secrete a > glue, glomalin, that binds soil particles, water and nutrients together, so > the soil work far better. The charcoal is not consumed, so this process is > carbon negative, but Glomalin accounts for 27% of the carbon in soil, so > adding carbon to soil as charcoal causes yet more carbon to be sequestered.
Dr. Evans Blog » 2006 » December » 07
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In 1996, Dr. Sarah Wright and colleagues at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service isolated a glycoprotein called glomalin that literally "gums up" the soil rhizosphere (the interface between soil and plant roots) with carbon fixed from the atmosphere. The compound is produced by common soil fungi called mycorrhizae that frequent the roots of many crops.
When Wright removed glomalin from soil samples, the result was a lifeless mineral powder. The soil had lost its tilth - the substance that conveys texture and health. She had inadvertently discovered the fundamental factor of soil welfare, elusive for over 10,000 years. Humic acid, previously thought to be the main contributor to soil carbon, could muster only a tiny percentage of glomalin's carbon-storing capacity in the field.
Another extraordinary finding was that elevated carbon dioxide levels encouraged mychorrizae to work overtime. Working with a consortium of scientists from UC-Davis and Stanford, Wright simulated CO2 projections for the year 2100 and observed ramped up glomalin production, with thriving fungi. . . .
. Most importantly, the USDA research demonstrated glomalin's tendency to buildup in the soil. Intensively farmed fields consistently leveled off at 0.7 mg of glomalin per gram of soil, while undisturbed plots saw an increase from 1.3 to 1.7 within three years. In hindsight, the Dust Bowl of the 1930's wasn't a casualty of overfarming, but overplowing.
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I hadn't known, or had forgotten, that mycorrhizae harbor and sustain soil microbes. It makes sense given their habits of transporting phosphorous, nitrogen and carbon around underground - the "dirt internet" so to speak. When mycorrhizae thrive, so does eveything else.
Muck and Mystery: Glomalin Critics
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Carbon Coalition Against Global Warming
Work in the area of ammending soil with bio-char and, separately or in combination with bio-char, promoting mycorrhyzal fungi to produce glomalin seem both very promising in terms of the fundamental science. Both are fairly recent discoveries with huge implications. Hopefully we have a few more rabbits to pull out of the living soil hat.
Carbon Coalition Against Global Warming: February 2006
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No one has mentioned worms?
I have seen one estimate of phylum Nemata saying that if those in 1sq.m. of soil (any soil, not especially Terra preta) were stretched 'head to toe' they would stretch to Mars.
Nematodes are the most numerous multicellular animals on earth.
The vast majority of species encountered are poorly understood biologically. There are nearly 20,000 described species classified in the phylum Nemata.
We know so little about soil fungi. We have named about 10% of the life in the soil
The S.A.Indians say Terra preta soil "grows".
I am inclined to believe them. They have been right about everything else.
SEE
ET 9/98: First-ever estimate of total bacteria on earth
Quote:
"Another important part of the study was an estimate of carbon content in bacteria. Carbon, of course, is a crucial element in numerous natural processes, so knowing the amount of it could contribute substantially to knowledge of carbon cycles.
Scientists assume that carbon in the bacteria that live in soil and subsurface takes up about one-half of their dry weight.
The team thus found that the total amount of bacterial carbon in the soil and subsurface to be yet another staggering number, 5 X 10**17 g or the weight of the United Kingdom.
Rather surprisingly, the group at Georgia found that the total carbon of bacteria is nearly equal to the total carbon found in plants.
The inclusion of this carbon in global models will greatly increase estimates of the amount of carbon stored in living organisms"
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