Viruses can help store large amounts of carbon in the soil

Viruses that infect other microbes could affect the movement of more than a billion tons of carbon in soil, according to the first attempt to quantify their role in one of the planet's most important carbon sinks.

“Although there are still gaps, we know that viruses can have a huge impact on soil carbon,” says Kirsten Hofmockel from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state.

The earth's soils are packed with…