The scientists also found that the organic soils housed a larger and more diverse community of organisms.

BBC: Organic farming 'a realistic choice'

The researchers said the fungi were at least partly responsible for the more stable physical structure of the organic soils.

BBC: Organic farming 'a realistic choice'

"Caesium stays mobile for longer in organic soils, hence why England and Wales still have some post-Chernobyl restrictions in upland areas, " he told BBC News.

BBC: Fukushima fallout fears over Japan farms

"Organic gardening helps foster healthy soils, clean water and nutritious food, " he says.

CNN: Downtown Atlanta recycles self into a Zero Waste Zone

For relatively poor countries with insufficient organic and inorganic deposits in their soils, the phytochemistry and the chemistry of natural products offer a chance to develop a sound economy based on knowledge with high added value.

UNESCO: SEE PhytoChemNet - Southeast European Network on Phytochemistry and Chemistry of Natural Products for Green and Sustainable Growth | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Ploughing fields opens up organic matter to oxidation and the release of nitrogen held in the soils.

BBC: Thames archive reveals long nitrate rise

Lehmann, the lead author of the paper which is published in the journal Nature Geosciences, said that the black carbon content of soils in the study ranged from zero to 82 percent of soil organic carbon.

CNN: Soil study hints at climate model revision

When heating up a chlorine compound with other Martian soils, Curiosity discovered that the compound reacted with carbon to form a simple organic.

FORBES: Curiosity Finds Hint Of Carbon On Mars