2023-05-10 18:08:26
They are everywhere around us. Viruses. And beyond the health risk they pose to us, they might also have an effect on the carbon cycle. An effect that is all the more important to assess in the context of global warming.
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Viruses are everywhere around us. And they are the subject of many scientific works. Even recently, duke university researchers (United States), in particular, have raised the question of the impact of global warming on viruses. Not to assess a potential new health risk that we might run. But good to get a more precise idea of how viruses might, in the future, play on the carbon cycle.
The researchers therefore focused on viruses capable of infecting microorganisms. Because they occupy a special place at the heart of ecosystems. They can capture and store carbon through photosynthesis. They can recycle some when they participate in the decomposition. Or release carbon when they breathe. So many processes that can be quite strongly impacted… by viral infections.
New sources of carbon, but also new sinks
It therefore appears of new importance to know how the viruses themselves will be impacted by global warming. Because the response of ecosystems to these changes cannot be correctly anticipated if we ignore the effects of temperature increases, for example, on virus-host dynamics. This is the first observation of the researchers.
The preliminary models developed by the researchers thus show that viruses might be able to tip the balance of the natural carbon cycle, and bring regarding quite unexpected responses to global warming. Some ecosystems might thus become sources of carbon, releasing more carbon than they store. But others might, conversely, become effective carbon sinks.
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