Characteristics of the Soil in Biofuel Crop Fields Affect Its Potential to Store Carbon
Department of Energy, Office of Science: Most of the carbon contained in soil is in the form of organic matter. Scientists do not fully understand how variation in plant inputs, microbial communities, and soil physical and chemical attributes influence the makeup of this organic matter. A new study found that soil in switchgrass fields had more water-soluble carbon compounds than soil in corn fields, an important finding for biofuel crop selection.