Decomposition of plants could shed light on climate change

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Nitrogen release by decomposing plants is surprisingly similar across the planet and could help shed light on the evolution of climate change, researchers have said. Dozens of researchers worked for 10 years in 27 sites, from Arctic tundra to the tropical forests of North and Central America, in one of the largest studies ever done on nitrogen release during plant decomposition published in the journal Science.

"The availability of nitrogen is one of the key factors limiting vegetation growth around the world, but its release from plant litter can be very slow," said Mark Harmon, a professor of forest science at Oregon State University. "For the first time, we studied this process at enough sites and over a long enough time period to really understand...