Sugar cane ethanol replaces fossil fuels, but changes in soil carbon could offset some of the benefit. Now, a study shows minor loss of soil carbon when pastures and croplands are converted to cane, but larger losses when converting native savannahs.
Soil Carbon Dynamics in Soybean Cropland and Forests in Mato Grosso, Brazil
Soil Carbon Dynamics in Soybean Cropland and Forests in Mato Grosso, Brazil
Climate and land use models predict that tropical deforestation and conversion to cropland will produce a large flux of soil carbon (C) to the atmosphere from accelerated decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM). However, the C flux from the deep tropical soils...