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Increased CO2 Beneficial to Soil Microbes

T

tuinman

After reading the paper and coming to the same conclusion; I'm curious if it takes a several year period in order for the microbial population to adapt efficiently to increased CO2 levels?

Now that I've typed it out it seems a bit silly considering the typical reproduction rate for microorganisms. Certainly not technically capable of weighing in, but would love to see someone do so.
 
grapeman

grapeman

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tuinman said:
After reading the paper and coming to the same conclusion; I'm curious if it takes a several year period in order for the microbial population to adapt efficiently to increased CO2 levels?

Now that I've typed it out it seems a bit silly considering the typical reproduction rate for microorganisms. Certainly not technically capable of weighing in, but would love to see someone do so.
Click to expand...

exactly. Maybe has to do with the trend of increased CO2 over seasons, which I would think soil temperatures must play a part in the life cycles of the soil microbes.

Just a guess.
 
mad librettist

mad librettist

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can't see the OP but-

making CO2 so we have an atmosphere is a crucial job of microbes. Without that airborne, fixed carbon, life on this earth above ground would not be possible. Healthy soil is a place of decomposition, which means CO2 resulting from respiration if we have aerobic soil, so it only seems right for soil organisms to thrive in the environment they make.

I have also seen work showing that forests don't scrub the air so well in a CO2 rich environment, when the entire system is looked at as a whole (not just measuring the carbon in the trees)
 
grapeman

grapeman

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If you can't see the OP, how are you able to comment on the Abstract?

Or are you commenting on the title of the OP?

Oh, I forgot, due to our disagreement over global warming, you blocked my posts. LOLOL

So you think this is a global warming post and you post up how forests only do well with an exact amount of CO2, no more, no less.

LOL

Read the Absract. This is a soil food web post.
 
M

MrFista

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With Grapes, if the precipitation is higher the increased CO2 will cause vegetative vigour, subsequent shading and a diminished crop from this shading. IPCC 2010.

The article is complex, but what you are looking at is increased plant carbon fixation (and decreased evapotranspiration as a direct cause of less stomata, or less duration of stomatal opening). The increases in growth will be limited by Nitrogen. To this effect planting nitrogen fixing shelter to use as mulch cover before peak season's heat could benefit you considerably. Throwing ferts on it will work, but it will also remove the increased soil carbon, so win-loss in that regard.
 
grapeman

grapeman

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MrFista said:
With Grapes, if the precipitation is higher the increased CO2 will cause vegetative vigour, subsequent shading and a diminished crop from this shading. IPCC 2010.

The article is complex, but what you are looking at is increased plant carbon fixation (and decreased evapotranspiration as a direct cause of less stomata, or less duration of stomatal opening). The increases in growth will be limited by Nitrogen. To this effect planting nitrogen fixing shelter to use as mulch cover before peak season's heat could benefit you considerably. Throwing ferts on it will work, but it will also remove the increased soil carbon, so win-loss in that regard.
Click to expand...

Well thought out mr.fista. We always use a cover crop between rows. More vegetative growth may effect the following years crop due to bud site shading.

But I posted this article thinking it might be of interest to those soil indoor growers who use CO2.
 
GoneRooty

GoneRooty

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Ok, what I'm getting from the study is that the increase in atmospheric CO2 will slowly increase the soil microbial biomass by creating more available C in the soil. Plants convert the CO2 into carbohydrates (Oxygen is converted from the water plants use), some of which are exuded into the soil increasing the C content of the soil. Since soil microbes are C limited, the more C available in the soil, the more microbial biomass the soil can maintain. The reason, IMO, why they found the biggest increases in the 3-4th years of the study is because only about 0.4% of CO2 processed into plants is exuded into the soil. And of the 0.4% only a portion of that is actually C. So with such a tiny amount of
C being exuded into the soil, it would take a few years to increase the C level in the soil enough to support an increased microbial population.

As for indoor soil growers using increased CO2, it isn't for the increase in soil microbes, but for the increase in plant growth. With increased CO2 and higher air temperatures, the photosynthesis is increased, causing the plant to grow bigger and faster. Photosynthesis rates double for every 10* increase in temp, provided there is adequate CO2, water and nutrients. For those indoor no-till soil growers, the increased soil microbial population would be an added benefit from additional CO2, even if it took a few years to take full effect.
But that's just my take on it all.
 
grapeman

grapeman

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GoneRooty said:
Ok, what I'm getting from the study is that the increase in atmospheric CO2 will slowly increase the soil microbial biomass by creating more available C in the soil. Plants convert the CO2 into carbohydrates (Oxygen is converted from the water plants use), some of which are exuded into the soil increasing the C content of the soil. Since soil microbes are C limited, the more C available in the soil, the more microbial biomass the soil can maintain. The reason, IMO, why they found the biggest increases in the 3-4th years of the study is because only about 0.4% of CO2 processed into plants is exuded into the soil. And of the 0.4% only a portion of that is actually C. So with such a tiny amount of
C being exuded into the soil, it would take a few years to increase the C level in the soil enough to support an increased microbial population.

As for indoor soil growers using increased CO2, it isn't for the increase in soil microbes, but for the increase in plant growth. With increased CO2 and higher air temperatures, the photosynthesis is increased, causing the plant to grow bigger and faster. Photosynthesis rates double for every 10* increase in temp, provided there is adequate CO2, water and nutrients. For those indoor no-till soil growers, the increased soil microbial population would be an added benefit from additional CO2, even if it took a few years to take full effect.
But that's just my take on it all.
Click to expand...

Makes sense, I think you nailed it.
 
spurr

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This topic is nothing new, Grape; and I'm highly surprised you care about a study (gasp!) ... I thought *only* farmers like yourself knew anything at all ... isn't the what you love to claim?!

P.S. AM fungi growth rate can be (is) increased when soil Co2 level is increased, there are studies on that phenomenon, but I know how you feel about studies I post ...
 
grapeman

grapeman

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spurr said:
This topic is nothing new, Grape; and I'm highly surprised you care about a study (gasp!) ... I thought *only* farmers like yourself knew anything at all ... isn't the what you love to claim?!
Click to expand...

On the contrary, I read, and have read abstracts for over 30 years, as they pertain to my business, going back to the days where I had to travel 2x a year to UC Davis and comb through their library and subscribe to arcane publications.

The difference between you and me is that I have 45 years of actual field experience behind me while the total of your knowledge comes from reading and posting abstracts while tending the 6 pots you have in the back room.

A vast difference.
 
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