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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 25, 2026

Monitoring Pedogenic Inorganic Carbon Accumulation Due to Weathering of Amended Silicate Minerals in Agricultural Soils.

Monitoring Pedogenic Inorganic Carbon Accumulation Due to Weathering of Amended Silicate Minerals in Agricultural Soils.

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Biogenic Carbon Storage in the Technosphere.

Kaan Hidiroglu¹, Sanderine Nonhebel¹, Franco Ruzzenenti¹

¹Integrated Research on Energy, Environment and Society (IREES), Energy and Sustainability Research Institute Groningen (ESRIG), University of Groningen, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands.

Environmental Science & Technology

|March 23, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Biogenic carbon (bio-C) storage in products and landfills is substantial but limited by short lifespans. Improving product longevity and landfill management can significantly mitigate climate change impacts from carbon emissions.

Keywords:

biogenic carbon biomass use carbon stocks climate change mitigation harvested wood products landfill decomposition material flow analysis (MFA)technosphere

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Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Climate Science
Material Flow Analysis

Background:

Biogenic carbon (bio-C) represents a significant, yet poorly understood, component of the global carbon cycle.
The technosphere, encompassing durable goods and landfills, stores considerable amounts of bio-C, impacting climate dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

To quantify annual bio-C flows into durable goods and landfills globally.
To analyze the fate of end-of-life bio-C through recycling, landfilling, and emission pathways until 2100.
To assess the influence of product lifespans and landfill management on bio-C storage and climate impacts.

Main Methods:

Utilized Multi-Regional Supply-Use Tables and extension accounts for global data.
Developed a novel material flow analysis framework to differentiate feedstock uses from gross additions to stock (GAS).
Applied lifetime-based discharge modeling to track bio-C fate and employed sensitivity analyses for uncertainty assessment.

Main Results:

In 2011, 0.96 ± 0.15 gigatons of carbon (GtC/year) was stored in GAS and landfills.
Forty-six percent of stored bio-C is projected for discharge before 2050 due to product lifespans.
Sensitivity analyses indicated significant variability in bio-C retention and emissions, with potential for 16% reduction in methane impacts via improved landfill management.

Conclusions:

Product lifespans critically limit long-term bio-C storage in the technosphere.
Extending product lifetimes, enhancing recycling, and optimizing landfill management are crucial for climate change mitigation.
Understanding the temporal dynamics of bio-C storage is essential for effective climate strategies.