Researchers find a tiny organism has the power to reduce a persistent greenhouse gas in farm fields

By MELINA WALLING
Associated Press

Thanks to heavy use of nitrogen fertilizer, tiny organisms that flourish in farm fields emit nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas that can warm the planet more than carbon dioxide and stay in the atmosphere for over a century. Now some researchers think they’ve found a bacteria that can help. Writing in this week’s Nature journal, they say extensive lab and field trials showed the naturally derived bacteria reduced the nitrous oxide without disrupting other microbes in the soil. It also survived well in soil and would be relatively cheap to produce. Further trials are needed, but they hope farmers could start using the bacteria within the decade.