TASS, December 12. The urban environment accelerates carbon dioxide production by about 30%, Russian scientists said after they compared greenhouse gas emissions inside and outside Arctic cities, press service of the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) said.

"The scientists have found that Arctic soils emit up to 30% more carbon dioxide in an urban environment than in natural conditions. They explain this by several reasons: the increased temperature in cities, the use of peat as a substrate in creating green spaces, and the peculiarities of their care," the report says.

A group of researchers led by Maria Korneikova, a researcher at the Peoples' Friendship University, measured the volume of carbon dioxide released from unfrozen soil in the Russian Arctic. For two years, the scientists collected and studied soil samples from the Arctic's big city of Murmansk, from the relatively small town of Apatity, and from their surrounding natural territories.

The measurements showed that soils in ten different parts in the Apatity urban area emitted 30% more carbon dioxide than soils in the neighboring natural areas. Such a difference was not typical for Murmansk, because soils in the wilderness areas adjacent to that city released abnormally large amounts of CO2.

During the studies, the scientists found that urban soils were about 3 degrees Celsius warmer than the soils in the Arctic natural areas. The soils contained about 2-3 times less carbon than the soils in the neighboring uninhabited Arctic areas. The researchers say both results indicate very high rates of organic matter decomposition in urban soils, which contributes to the accelerated formation of carbon dioxide.

Additionally, the researchers have found that soils in lawns in Murmansk and Apatity emit about 10-15% less CO2 than the soil around trees and shrubs. They explain it by fallen leaves under shrubs and trees, and by the fact that utilities services add peat to the soil next to those plants. The results need to be taken into account in efforts to cut CO2 emissions in the Russian Arctic, the scientists concluded.