Large parts of the tropics overlooked in environmental research
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 13-Apr-2026 22:16 ET (14-Apr-2026 02:16 GMT/UTC)
Environmental research in the tropics is heavily skewed, according to a comprehensive study led from Umeå University. Humid lowland forest ecosystems receive a disproportionate amount of attention, while colder and drier regions that are more affected by climate change are severely underrepresented.
Soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined, with soil microorganisms playing the main role. As a result, the global soil carbon cycle—by which carbon enters, moves through, and leaves soils worldwide—exerts a significant impact on climate change feedback. Now an important study led by researchers from the Institute of Earth Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences sheds new light on this cycle by overturning assumptions about the relationship between microbial respiration and carbon storage.