Published

10/02/2026 às 17:07

Updated

10/02/2026 às 17:08

A thermal shock below the surface reveals an overlooked mechanism: microbes stop “recycling” nutrients for plants, the soil becomes poorer, and climate models may be underestimating the impact.

A study in Iceland reveals that warming soil alters the nutrient cycle, causing microorganisms to retain nitrogen and inhibit plant growth, thus exacerbating global warming.

In 2008, the Hveragerdi region of Iceland became the site of an unintentional geological experiment. A series of earthquakes altered groundwater flows, heating the soil up to 40°C above normal. This phenomenon created a natural laboratory that allowed scientists to observe, in real time, the drastic changes in the… nutrient cycle essential for plant life in subarctic regions. 

What began as a geological curiosity has revealed a worrying facet of global warming: the transformation of microbial behavior beneath our feet.

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The action of microbes helps to understand how soil warming threatens the life cycle.

According to studies published in the journal Global Change BiologyThe increase in soil temperature is forcing microorganisms to change their survival strategy. In healthy ecosystems, the microbiota acts as a recycling plant, decomposing organic matter and releasing ammonium and nitrates. However, the heat is making these organisms “selfish.” Instead of releasing nitrogen into the soil, which feeds plants, the microbes are retaining the element for their own internal recirculation.

This profound change in nutrient cycle This directly impacts plant productivity. Without available nitrogen, plants cannot perform photosynthesis vigorously, resulting in sparser and weaker vegetation. It’s a direct competition where, ironically, decomposers are winning against producers.

Impacts on carbon sequestration 

The most serious consequence of this “microbial greed” is the impact on carbon sequestration. High-latitude soils, such as those in Iceland, Alaska, and Siberia, are gigantic reservoirs of carbon accumulated over millennia. When plants stop growing due to a failure in… nutrient cycleAs a result, they stop absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. At the same time, microbial activity accelerated by the heat can release greenhouse gases stored in the soil.

External research indicates that this “mismatch” between microbes and plants is not unique to Iceland. In various parts of the Arctic, the melting of ice… permafrost It is exposing ancient organic matter, but if the microbiota decides to retain the nitrogen instead of sharing it, the expected “greening of the Arctic” (which could help absorb carbon) may never happen on the necessary scale.

The future of climate models

The study warns that current climate models may be underestimating the rate of soil degradation. Iceland serves as a “canary in the coal mine,” showing that the fragility of terrestrial ecosystems is greater than previously thought. If the base of the food pyramid, microorganisms, stops cooperating with flora, we will face poorer soils and accelerated global warming. Understanding every detail of nutrient cycle It therefore becomes a race against time to predict the future habitability of our planet.