| Popis: |
Erodible rock at the surface of the earth has about 10 times more organic carbon than soil. Also there are about 1018 g C in exposed peat in Arctic countries. The rock organic carbon is probably a degraded humic matter, called kerogen, which is insoluble, but yields a variety of organic compounds under acid/base hydrolysis. A computer model, using the degradation rate formulation of Middelburg (1989) shows no modification of the global carbon pool, however, unless decomposition rate coefficients increase by over 10 times. The ground mineral matter could also act as a sink of organic carbon by providing fresh substrate for phytomass growth. An experiment on the alteration of peat and freshly ground rock matter containing kerogen is proposed to resolve the importance of this major carbon pool in global cycles. |
