Theory 70/Freshwater & Wetland/Carbon burial
Burial Is Deposition Against Respiration
The claim
Freshwater carbon burial is set by the ratio of deposition rate to respiration rate, so a productive lake can bury little if respiration is fast.
01Mechanism
Carbon must reach the sediment and be buried before it is respired; the ratio determines the fraction that persists.
02Prediction
Burial should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Burial tracking productivity would remove respiration.