evidence: Sequestering carbon in soil, however, is a relatively natural way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere with fewer impacts on land and water, less need for energy, and lower costs. Better land management and agricultural practices could enhance the ability of soils to store carbon and help combat global warming. [...] Moreover, the amount of carbon that microbes emit might actually increase over time, further intensifying global warming. A 26-year-long soil warming study in a hardwood forest found that warming temperatures could spur recurring pulses of carbon dioxide emissions from soils. For the first 10 years, as microbes in the heated plots decomposed carbon and released it into the atmosphere, CO2 levels spiked. Afterwards, levels fell and remained the same as those of unheated plots for the next eight years. Then CO2 emissions ramped up again for five years followed by another decline. The scientists concluded that the community of microbes changed over the years. After the first wave of microbes that decomposed the easily digestible carbon died off, a new set of microbes evolved that were able to decompose more resistant carbon that contains more minerals or is wood-based. Most global warming studies only calculate the initial rise in carbon emissions; this research suggests that microbes will evolve, resulting in continuing pulses of CO2 into the atmosphere. However, scientists still do not know how much extra carbon might result or how fast it might be released.