By Sadie Harley
The successive heat waves that sweep across southern Spain in summer have harmful effects on the entire community that lives there, from humans to the microbes that inhabit the soil. Both share an impressive resilience that has enabled them to survive and adapt, each in its own way, to successive episodes of extreme temperatures. But that adaptability has its limits.
When the temperature exceeds 40 degrees, just as human health suffers, the microorganisms that inhabit the soil—and from there provide a multitude of ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration and plant nutrition—concentrate more on survival than continuing their work.
A study conducted by the University of Córdoba (UCO) in collaboration with the School of Environmental and Natural Sciences at Bangor University in the United Kingdom has determined the temperature limit that soil in various Mediterranean regions can reach before it begins to degrade. The study also provides insights into what we can do to help the soil.
The paper is published in the European Journal of Soil Science.
Above 40 degrees, microorganisms' ability to capture carbon diminishes, and it practically "shuts down" at 50 degrees—a temperature to which the calcareous soils of the province of Córdoba are often exposed.
The higher the temperature they endure, the lower the soil's phosphorus reserve becomes, which is virtually nonexistent when exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees.
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