In an attempt to gain unique insight into how Illinois soils have changed over the course of 120 years, University of Illinois researchers are seeking to resample soils at 450 locations throughout the state and compare them to the samples gathered by their predecessors.
After stumbling upon thousands of Mason jars filled with soil in a University of Illinois barn, some of them over 100 years old, Andrew Margenot knew he had found something special.
In an attempt to gain unique insight into how Illinois soils have changed over the course of 120 years, Margenot and his team are now trying to resample soils at 450 locations throughout the state and compare them to the samples gathered by their predecessors."This is as good as it gets, I would argue, in the world," he said."Globally, the research that we could do with this is going to be really important for soil science.
Once complete, the project will culminate in a publicly available database. The researchers went through nearly 7,000 Mason jars one by one, choosing about 3,000 of the best documented original soil samples to analyze and include online. "Those maps have power obviously for agriculture but also things like construction. Even today, what kind of a septic system you have is based on the soil maps," Margenot said."This is a publicly funded effort that has yielded dividends for engineering and for agriculture."
That's because soils store carbon, but through deforestation and agricultural tillage, a lot of the CO2 previously locked up in the earth has been transferred into the atmosphere. As scientists continue searching for ways to offset greenhouse gas emissions, there's been increasing attention in soils as a means to sequester carbon.
Because the majority of resampling locations are now on private land, where the soil researchers need permission to gather soil, the team has hit a roadblock in identifying and contacting landowners.
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