Climate Change May Cut Soil's Ability to Absorb Water

Rutgers-led study shows how increased rainfall can reduce water infiltration in soils.

Coasts, oceans, ecosystems, weather and human health all face impacts from climate change, and now valuable soils may also be affected.

Climate change may reduce the ability of soils to absorb water in many parts of the world, according to a Rutgers-led study.  And that could have serious implications for groundwater supplies, food production and security, stormwater runoff, biodiversity, and ecosystems.

The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

"Since rainfall patterns and other environmental conditions are shifting globally as a result of climate change, our results suggest that how water interacts with soil could change appreciably in many parts of the world, and do so fairly rapidly," said co-author Daniel Giménez, a soil scientist and professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.  "We propose that the direction, magnitude, and rate of the changes should be measured and incorporated into predictions of ecosystem responses to climate change."

Water in soil is crucial for storing carbon, and soil changes could influence the level of carbon dioxide in the air in an unpredictable way, according to Giménez, of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.  Carbon dioxide is one of the key greenhouse gases linked to climate change.

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