Lacroix and co-workers have measured the amount of carbon bound to different fractions of the soil in forests that had been clear-cut previously, and in a mature forest, all in the North-Eastern U.S.A. They find that clear-cutting causes loss of carbon from all soil fractions, even from those where it binds strongest in mature forests. Clear-cuts therefore lead to a significant reduction in the amount of soil-bound carbon. Read the whole article in Soil Science or check out a popular science website that explains the paper.

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