'Hidden pool' of carbon could add to world's climate woes

Scientists have discovered a “hidden pool” of carbon in the Earth's soil that could worsen the world's climate problems if it is released.

Threats to soil health in countries such as India and China could expose 2.3 billion tonnes of stored carbon to the environment.

The “huge pool” of inorganic carbon measured by Chinese scientists is in addition to the organic kind made of decaying plants.

The soil acts as a natural store for both types of carbon, reducing the amount that is in the Earth's atmosphere.

When it escapes as CO2, it stays for hundreds of years and traps heat in the atmosphere – warming the planet.

More than 150 countries pledged to improve soil health at the Cop28 climate summit in the UAE last year.

But parts of China and India are seeing soil acidification due to industrial activities and intense farming, warns researcher Huang Yuanyuan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Scientists in China raised fears for the health of soil that stores carbon. Getty Images

“Acids dissolve calcium carbonate and remove it either as carbon dioxide gas or directly into the water,” said Prof Huang, who was behind the study measuring the amount of inorganic carbon.

“Here's the thing: this huge carbon pool is vulnerable to changes in the environment, especially soil acidification.

“Without remedial actions and better soil practices, the world is likely to face a disturbance of [inorganic carbon in the soil] in the next 30 years.”

The study found that 2,305 billion tonnes of inorganic carbon is stored in the top two metres of the world's soil.

This is more than five times the carbon found in all of the world's vegetation combined, the researchers said.

They said the inorganic kind was often overlooked because it is typically found in arid areas with infertile soils.

A drive to improve soil health is often bound up with a desire to protect farming and other goals such as flood prevention.

But even the loss of inorganic soil has “profound but often overlooked implications”, said the Chinese academy.

“It is now clear that inorganic carbon deserves equal attention,” it said.

It said the study “underscores the urgency” of including that kind of carbon in policies to slow global warming.

This could provide an “an additional lever for maintaining and enhancing carbon sequestration”, meaning storage in the ground, it said.

US Industrial Market figures, Q1 2017

Vacancy Rate 5.4%

Markets With Positive Absorption 85.7 per cent

New Supply 55 million sq ft

New Supply to Inventory 0.4 per cent

Under Construction 198.2 million sq ft

(Source: Colliers)

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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush

Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”

A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.

“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”