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Alpine soils: allies in climate protection

May 05, 2022 / Mirjam Jakob, CIPRA International
The soils of the Alps make a decisive contribution to climate protection. But intensive land use and rising temperatures are endangering them: not only are they losing their valuable function as carbon reservoirs, but they may even become a source of greenhouse gases themselves.
Image caption:
Alpine soils make a decisive contribution to climate protection. But they are under pressure. (c) Mirjam Jakob

Alpine soils are true carbon storage artists. Due to harsh climatic conditions and high precipitation levels, microorganisms in mountain regions only break down dead plant material very slowly. As a result, considerable humus layers have over thousands of years grown on bare rock, on glacier remains or river gravel. However, as a result of soil cultivation and rising temperatures, these microorganisms are beginning to convert the stored soil carbon back into CO2, which escapes into the atmosphere.

Alpine permafrost soils, which normally remain frozen all year round, play a special role. Due to rising temperatures, deeper and deeper soil areas thaw and become accessible to microorganisms. These also break down the carbon stored here, releasing not only CO2 but also methane, which is far more harmful to the climate.

It is not known how much carbon the Alps actually store in the form of permafrost. It is equally unclear to what extent further thawing of the soils could fuel climate change. Researchers and nature conservation organisations are therefore calling for Alpine soils to be included in long-term monitoring programmes and for them to be more firmly anchored in climate protection.

CIPRA International is campaigning for a change in the way we treat soils. Its ongoing project “Saving:Soils” is highlighting good examples and developing possible solutions with pilot regions.

 

Sources and further information:

www.wsl.ch/de/newsseiten/2019/09/alpenboeden.html#tabelement1-tab2 (de, en fr, it),  alpinesoils.eu/about-soils/soil-ecosystem-services/ (de, en, fr, it, sl), www.bodenwelten.de (de)