The role of carbon

It is what follows carbon that best explains the role of carbon. Energy, nutrients and water all follow carbon.

Most scientific literature presents the carbon cycle as being separate from the water cycle and the nutrient cycle. It is true that when the water cycle and the nutrient cycle are functioning well, they enhance the carbon cycle through better plant growth. This is because photosynthesis needs water and nutrients to proceed.

The subtlety is that the efficiency of the water and mineral cycles, is determined by the carbon cycle. To reinforce this point, if soil carbon levels fall below a given level, then the other two cycles also begin to fail.

The reason for following the path of carbon is to discover what interferes with its flow, as well as developing an understanding of all of the components of the landscape carbon interacts with.

Just as carbon is essential to plants, it is also the master nutrient for soils. Carbon determines soil structure, the ability of soil to hold moisture, how quickly water penetrates the soil, the resilience of soils to climate extremes, how much nitrogen and other nutrients are available to plants, plant digestibility and a host of other functions.

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