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How fungi and bacteria could influence climate models

New research results suggest climate modelers must rethink their input data.

By Brooks Hays

LUND, Sweden, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Building accurate climate prediction models involves more than simply measuring the levels of CO2 being pumped of a tailpipes and factory chimneys.

Scientists have to understand the different natural processes the pull carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in and out of the atmosphere. One important mechanism -- one that scientists know relatively little about -- is decomposition, the role bacteria and fungi play in breaking down organic matter.

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A new study out of Sweden suggests scientists have long misunderstood this process, and the findings may force climate modelers to reconfigure their prediction algorithms.

Previously, scientists thought bacteria took the lead role in breaking down "high-quality" organic material, like leaves, which are full of highly soluble, easily digested sugars. Harder-to-digest, "lower-quality" materials, like the cellulose and lignin found in wood, were thought to be the purview of fungi.

Apparently, scientists had it all wrong. A team of researchers from the United States and Sweden's Lund University recently wrapped up a 23-year experiment during which they watched and measured the decomposing work of both fungi and bacteria.

"In contrast with expectations, there was no evidence that high quality organic material was mainly broken down by bacteria," Johannes Rousk, a microbial ecologist at Lund, explained in a press release. "In fact, the data strongly suggested the contrary."

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Rousk is the lead author of a new paper describing the lengthy experiment. The findings were published this week in the journal Ecological Monographs.

"There was also no evidence to suggest that organic material broken down by fungi reduced the leakage of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, or the leakage of nutrients," Rousk added. "Once again, the results tended to suggest the contrary."

Rousk and his colleagues say their results suggest climate modelers must rethink their input data. More immediately, the data suggests current land-use strategies for promoting fungal growth may be misguided.

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