Soil acts as a carbon sink, capable of absorbing and retaining vast amounts of carbon dioxide, which helps mitigate the severity of the climate change impacts that have worsened today.

However, the world is still unable to achieve optimal soil utilization to absorb the maximum amount of carbon dioxide; this requires a deep understanding of the interactions occurring in the soil.

In an attempt to achieve optimal soil utilization, a research group from the University of Zurich sought to accomplish this goal and investigated the effects of plant diversity on the soil's carbon sequestration capacity. The journal "Nature Communications" published their significant results in September 2024.

Unintended deterioration

Unstudied agricultural practices lead to soil degradation, particularly as population growth forces farmers to adopt intensive farming methods to meet the population's food needs.

However, this ultimately results in soil degradation and the release of significant amounts of carbon, which in turn leads to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

Therefore, researchers are actively working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the agriculture sector to contribute to climate change mitigation efforts.

Plant diversity

And for those who do not know, soil consists of a vast world that many people do not comprehend, a world that includes various types of microbes, nutrients, and living organisms, but people only see the plants and its black surface.

To maximize the benefits of soil and enhance its productivity and carbon storage capabilities, it was necessary to study the different interactions between plants and microbes in the soil and the benefits of plant diversity.

Therefore, they conducted an experiment to explore the differences between planting a single type of plant alone in the soil or several types together. Thus, the researchers planted barley once alone and another time with 8 different types of plants, including nitrogen-fixing plants, which contribute to enhancing soil health.

Researchers concluded that plant diversity contributed to enhancing the soil's ability to sequester larger amounts of carbon, with microbial communities playing a role in this process. As plant diversity increased, the efficiency of positive interactions between microbes in the roots also improved.

On the other hand, researchers also found that plant diversity contributed to increased production of plant biomass, which in turn improved the efficiency of carbon sequestration in the soil.

The authors of the study believe that plant diversity can enhance soil health and sustainability, in addition to capturing more carbon. However, there is an urgent need to develop policies and strategies to educate and support farmers so they can maximize the benefits of the soil.