Australian microbiologist and climatologist, Walter Jehne, articulated the concept of the soil carbon sponge in his 2017 paper, Regenerate Earth,[3] connecting soil carbon with a restored water cycle[4] able induce planetary cooling through evaporative cooling and higher reflectance of denser green vegetation.
[6] It has been postulated that improved performance of soil carbon sponges at a global scale, could affect the Earth's climate mainly through ecohydrology.
[4] Afforestation, reforestation and cover cropping are methods to build and improve soil carbon sponges.
[7] Observational evidence, that the southern Amazon rainforest triggers its own rainy season using water vapor from plant leaves, which then forms clouds above it has been reported.
Airborne bacteria released from the plant leaves may seed these clouds, which result in rain droplet formations.