Speaker: Dr. Cesar Terrer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The terrestrial carbon sink is a critical climate regulator, yet its primary drivers remain highly uncertain. While forest biomass is often the "obvious suspect," emerging empirical evidence suggests a paradigm shift: the "missing sink" is largely belowground. In this talk, I present a global data-driven synthesis revealing that soils explain the bulk of historical land carbon uptake, a process governed by plant-microbe-nutrient interactions and mycorrhizal symbionts. I further explore how forest recovery dynamics—shaped by biotic agents such as seed dispersers and disturbances like wind—dictate long-term carbon storage.
By integrating these overlooked biological and edaphic constraints, we can bridge critical gaps in carbon cycle models and better leverage ecosystems for climate mitigation.