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Science 24 November 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5803, p. 1213
DOI: 10.1126/science.314.5803.1213f
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This Week in Science

Organic carbon in soils is the second largest active reservoir on Earth and exerts a key influence on the concentration of atmospheric CO2, and about half of soil organic carbon is refractory organic carbon. Smittenberg et al. (p. 1283) compare the radiocarbon ages of terrestrial vascular plant waxes found in marine sediments with those of the surrounding sediments, and find that they become increasingly older throughout the course of the Holocene. They conclude that in soils that have developed since the last deglaciation, accumulation of refractory organic has continued for the duration of the Holocene and is ongoing.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)