Many complexities of the carbon sequestration process remain poorly understood, despite years of research and the significant impact of this process on global climate.

Now, three scientists have proposed a new approach to better understand the role of soil organic matter in long-term carbon storage and its response to changes in global climate and atmospheric chemistry. The trio, including Julie Jastrow of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, published their ideas in the August issue of Nature Microbiology.

The article comes at a time of increasing concern over the growing problem of soil degradation, and the emerging concept of soil security (the stabilization and improvement of the world's soil resources).