This study evaluated the alkalinity distribution in 14 climate models and found that most models underestimate alkalinity at the surface and overestimate it in the deeper ocean. It highlights the need for better understanding and quantification of processes driving alkalinity distribution and calcium carbonate dissolution and the importance of accounting for biases in model results when evaluating potential ocean alkalinity enhancement experiments.

A robust skirt-chamber design to capture and quantify greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands is presented. Compared to standard methods, this design improves the spatial resolution of field studies in remote locations while minimizing intrusion.

Managing drinking water catchments to minimise water colour could reduce costs for water companies and save their customers money. Brown-coloured water comes from peat soils, primarily around upland reservoirs. Management practices, including blocking drains, removing conifers, restoring peatland plants and reducing burning, have been used to try and reduce water colour. This work brings together published evidence of the effectiveness of these practices to aid water industry decision-making.

This study evaluates soil carbon projections during the 21st century in CMIP6 Earth system models. In general, we find a reduced spread of changes in global soil carbon in CMIP6 compared to the previous CMIP5 generation. The reduced CMIP6 spread arises from an emergent relationship between soil carbon changes due to change in plant productivity and soil carbon changes due to changes in turnover time. We show that this relationship is consistent with false priming under transient climate change.

The mechanisms of soil CO₂ flux in dry desert soils are not fully understood. Yet studies conducted in desert ecosystems rarely discuss potential errors related to using the commonly used flux chambers in dry and bare soils. In our study, the conventional deployment practice of the chambers underestimated the instantaneous CO₂ flux by up to 50 % and the total daily CO₂ uptake by 35 %. This suggests that desert soils are a larger carbon sink than previously reported.

This study analyzes the ecological impact of the 2022 summer fire season in France by using high-resolution satellite data. The total biomass loss was 2.553 Mt, equivalent to a 17 % increase of the average natural mortality of all French forests. While Mediterranean forests had a lower biomass loss, there was a drastic increase in burned area and biomass loss over the Atlantic pine forests and temperate forests. This result revisits the distinctiveness of the 2022 fire season.

In Finland peatlands cover one-third of land area. For half of those, with 4.3 Mha being drained for forestry, Finland reports sinks and sources of greenhouse gases in forest lands on organic soils following its UNFCCC commitment. We describe a new method for compiling soil CO₂ balance that follows changes in tree volume, tree harvests and temperature. An increasing trend of emissions from 1.4 to 7.9 Mt CO₂ was calculated for drained peatland forest soils in Finland for 1990–2021.

This study investigates methane dynamics in the Wadden Sea. Our measurements revealed distinct variations triggered by seasonality and tidal forcing. The methane budget was higher in warmer seasons but surprisingly high in colder seasons. Methane dynamics were amplified during low tides, flushing the majority of methane into the North Sea or releasing it to the atmosphere. Methanotrophic activity was also elevated during low tide but mitigated only a small fraction of the methane efflux.

There is a strong link between nitrogen availability and iron minerals in soils. These minerals have multiple outcomes for nitrogen availability depending on soil conditions and properties. For example, iron can limit microbial degradation of nitrogen in aerated soils but has opposing outcomes in non-aerated soils. This paper focuses on the multiple ways iron can affect nitrogen bioavailability in soils.

Manure application to agricultural land often results in large and variable N₂O emissions. We propose a model with a parsimonious structure to investigate N transformations around such N₂O hotspots. The model allows for new detailed insights into the interactions between transport and microbial activities regarding N₂O emissions in heterogeneous soil environments. It highlights the importance of solute diffusion to N₂O emissions from such hotspots which are often ignored by process-based models.

The ocean is both impacted by climate change and helps mitigate its effects through taking up carbon from the atmosphere. We used a machine learning approach to investigate what controls open-ocean carbon uptake in the northeast Pacific open ocean. Marine heatwaves that lasted 2–3 years increased uptake, while the upwelling strength of the Alaskan Gyre controlled uptake over 10-year time periods. The trend from 1998–2019 suggests carbon uptake in the northeast Pacific open ocean is increasing.

We analyze a complex and branched mineral structure with an obscure origin, considering form, matrix, composition, and context. Comparisons eliminate controlled biominerals. The structure's intricate history suggests microbial influence and alterations, followed by a thermal event. Complex interactions shaped its forms, making origin classification tougher. This study highlights the elaborated nature of dubiofossils, identifying challenges in distinguishing biominerals from abiotic minerals.

We quantify the impact of CO₂ and climate on global patterns of burnt area, fire size, and intensity under Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) conditions using three climate scenarios. Climate change alone did not produce the observed LGM reduction in burnt area, but low CO₂ did through reducing vegetation productivity. Fire intensity was sensitive to CO₂ but strongly affected by changes in atmospheric dryness. Low CO₂ caused smaller fires; climate had the opposite effect except in the driest scenario.