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Earth's Systems / Biological processes / Terrestrial ecosystem functioning / Weathering / Biotic enhancement and climate control of weathering

Biotic enhancement and climate control of weathering

How roots and fungi accelerate mineral dissolution, how erosion and climate set long-term chemical weathering rates, and how spreading crushed silicate rock on cropland could draw down CO2.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: Roots and fungi acidify mineral surfaces with organic acids

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Erosion supplies fresh mineral surface that speeds chemical weathering; Enhanced rock weathering on cropland

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESRockFungiPlant rootsClimateWaterMineralsWaterOrganic acidsPotassiumCarbon dioxideImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ reinforces · moderate · 0.2 fresh cation sImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Roots and fungi acidify mineral surfaces with organic acids: uses MineralsRoots and fungi acidify mineral surfaces with organic acids: uses Organic acidsFungal hyphae tunnel into feldspar and release cations: uses up Mineralsuses upFungal hyphae tunnel into feldspar and release cations: makes PotassiummakesErosion supplies fresh mineral surface that speeds chemical weathering: uses MineralsErosion supplies fresh mineral surface that speeds chemical weathering: uses WaterEnhanced rock weathering on cropland: uses MineralsEnhanced rock weathering on cropland: uses WaterEnhanced rock weathering on cropland: uses up Carbon dioxideuses upacidified by organicacidsMinerals: acidified by organic acidsacidify mineral surfacesOrganic acids: acidify mineral surfacestunnelled into by hyphaeMinerals: tunnelled into by hyphaereleased from feldsparPotassium: released from feldsparfresh surfaces exposedby erosionMinerals: fresh surfaces exposed by erosionenables chemicalreactionsWater: enables chemical reactionsspread and dissolvedMinerals: spread and dissolvedcarries bicarbonate awayWater: carries bicarbonate awaycaptured via dissolutionCarbon dioxide: captured via dissolutionStart: Bioticenhancement and climatecontrol of weatheringSTARTStart: Biotic enhancement and climate control of weatheringEnd: Biotic enhancementand climate control ofweatheringENDEnd: Biotic enhancement and climate control of weatheringRoots and fungi acidifymineral surfaces withorganic acids📄1Roots and fungi acidify mineral surfaces with organic acidsFungal hyphae tunnelinto feldspar andrelease cations👍1📄1Fungal hyphae tunnel into feldspar and release cationsErosion supplies freshmineral surface thatspeeds chemic…📄1Erosion supplies fresh mineral surface that speeds chemical weatheringEnhanced rockweathering on cropland↘📄1Enhanced rock weathering on cropland
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
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Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
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Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
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Boundary
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Subprocess
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Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Inside this process

Enhanced rock weathering on cropland

Spreading crushed basalt on cropland speeds silicate dissolution, which converts CO2 to dissolved bicarbonate carried to rivers and the ocean; rising pH slows the dissolution as it proceeds.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

Roots and fungi acidify mineral surfaces with organic acids
Plant rootsFungiOrganic acidsMinerals
Evidence (1) · added by Broad
  • Landeweert 2001, Linking plants to rocks: ectomycorrhizal fungi mobilize nutrients from minerals, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, doi:10.1016/s0169-5347(01)02122-x: Ectomycorrhizal fungi release organic acids that dissolve mineral surfaces. (confidence 0.75)
Fungal hyphae tunnel into feldspar and release cations
FungiMineralsPotassium
Evidence (1) · added by Broad
  • Hoffland 2004, Feldspar tunneling by fungi along natural productivity gradients, Ecosystems, doi:10.1007/s10021-003-0191-3: Narrow tunnels in feldspar grains from forest soils indicate fungal mineral dissolution, more along low-productivity gradients. (confidence 0.7)
Erosion supplies fresh mineral surface that speeds chemical weathering
RockWaterMineralsWater
Evidence (1) · added by Broad
  • Riebe 2004, Erosional and climatic effects on long-term chemical weathering rates in granitic landscapes spanning diverse climate regimes, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2004.05.019: Chemical weathering rates in granitic landscapes rise with erosion and with temperature and precipitation. (confidence 0.75)
↘ Enhanced rock weathering on cropland
FarmersRockRainCarbon dioxideMineralsWater
Evidence (1) · added by Broad
  • Beerling 2020, Potential for large-scale CO2 removal via enhanced rock weathering with croplands, Nature, doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2448-9: Modelled enhanced weathering with basalt on croplands could remove CO2 at a scale relevant to climate targets. (confidence 0.7)