Nature – Zhou et al. (2025): Pyrogenic carbon contribution to tropical savanna soil carbon storage
Yong Zhou, A. Tyler Karp, Abigail Schmidt and Corli Coetsee, IN: Nature Communications, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64699-y
Savannas are fire-prone ecosystems that contribute substantially to global fire emissions, but these emissions may be partly offset by deposition of fire-derived, persistent pyrogenic carbon (PyC) in soils. Although estimates of PyC contributions to soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in savanna exist, factors driving its accumulation remain unclear due to limited measurements with consistent methods. To address this, the authors sampled 253 sites across tropical savannas in Kruger National Park, South Africa, spanning broad gradients in fire regimes, grass biomass, rainfall, and soil texture.