Soils and climate change

Soils and climate change

Case studies showing how soil plays an important role in the developing story of climate change.

Soils are both affected by climate change and part of the solution. The case studies here examine dry lake beds and vanished rivers in Turkey, and consider how long-term records of planting and harvest — preserved in soil, documents and local knowledge — can reveal shifts in weather patterns over time.

Soil holds one of the largest stores of carbon on land. Changes in temperature and rainfall alter how quickly organic matter breaks down, how water moves through the profile and how vulnerable land becomes to erosion or drought. What happens to soil therefore feeds back into the climate system.

These examples show why soil scientists, farmers and planners need to think about climate not as a distant issue, but as something already written into the condition of the ground beneath our feet. Use the links above to explore how particular landscapes tell that story.