Researcher sees key role for grasslands in carbon balance

Maybe we should not be planting trees but rather putting efforts into restoring grasslands. Read this article for why.

Here's a taster:

ecosystems drive the glaciations, as carbon enters soils when grasslands dominate and leaves again in sagebrush eras. The jury is still out on this idea. But Retallack is not alone in thinking biology could be important in ice ages. Lars Franzen of Gothenburg University in Sweden has argued that the formation of peat bogs, which draw large amounts of CO2 out of the atmosphere, could pull the world into glaciation--and push it out again as the bogs decay under the ice. In any event, with evidence growing that biology can drive climate change on other timescales, it cannot be dismissed.

Researcher sees key role for grasslands in carbon balance: Filed in: climate, grasslands, glaciation, biota, soil