New study finds lime may help remove carbon from soil, rather than emit It

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🗞️ Driving the news: A new Yale-led study suggests that applying lime to agricultural soils may remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, rather than emit it as widely assumed
• Presented at the Goldschmidt Conference in Prague, the research draws on over a century of data from the Mississippi River basin and advanced models, concluding that soil acidity from fertilizers and pollution —  not lime — is the main driver of CO₂ release

🔭 The context: For decades, international greenhouse gas inventories have classified all lime-related carbon as an emission, discouraging its use despite its role in improving soil quality
• Lime reacts with carbonic acid in soils to form bicarbonate, stabilizing carbon, but previous accounting overlooked the impact of fertilizer-induced acids, which are the true source of CO₂ emissions
• This study challenges prevailing guidelines and suggests a policy realignment could support both climate mitigation and food security goals

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Reassessing the climate impact of liming could unlock additional carbon removal potential in agriculture while maintaining soil health and productivity
• The findings also highlight the unintended emissions caused by synthetic fertilizers and air pollution, offering new avenues for emissions reduction in farming
• Without appropriate policy adjustments, agriculture risks missing an opportunity for scalable, nature-based carbon capture

⏭️ What's next: Researchers recommend policymakers revise carbon accounting methodologies to distinguish between lime and acidity-driven emissions, and encourage practices like applying silicate rock before liming to optimize carbon benefits
• If adopted, these changes could influence agricultural subsidy schemes, emissions trading frameworks, and climate targets
• Further field validation and pilot projects are likely as the debate over agricultural carbon removal intensifies

💬 One quote: "By penalizing liming, rather than the addition of acids, we are targeting the wrong driver and potentially losing the other benefits that liming can bring," — Dr. Tim Jesper Suhrhoff, lead author and researcher at Yale’s Centre for Natural Carbon Capture

📈 One stat: Researchers estimate that current CO₂ removal from liming is already at about 75% of its theoretical maximum potential in U.S. agricultural soils

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