Microbes play a key role in moving carbon from plants to the soil and environment, a process called carbon cycling.
A study at Biosphere 2 near Tucson revealed that heat and drought could impact how efficiently those microbes work.
Researchers with the University of Arizona found that drought stress causes soil microbes to release more volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere.
The term volatile refers to how easily a compound goes from a liquid into a gas. The study found that production of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, increased as less carbon dioxide was generated.
This meant carbon cycling was less efficient during periods of drought.
The role these VOC’s play in soil-atmospheric dynamics aren’t clear yet, but the researchers say the study will play an important step in understanding how microbes respond to environmental stress.
