GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Florida is home to many types of soil and some of them lack carbon, meaning they could be used for carbon sequestration - but a new University of Florida study shows that variability in the state's existing soil carbon levels could make the task harder.

Carbon sequestration is the practice of storing carbon; one way to accomplish it is by adding carbon-rich material to soils. Carbon sequestration aims to slow the build-up of carbon-based gases in the atmosphere, a phenomenon believed to be a cause of global climate change. Some landowners may be able to make money by allowing their properties to be used as sites for carbon sequestration.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- University of Florida Faculty Senate Chair Cheri Brodeur is definitely a product of UF, having been a student, staffer and faculty member here.

So when it came time to honor her latest achievement with a tree-planting ceremony, it was natural that Brodeur chose a tree that hails from her alma mater. It's the Southern Rose nectarine, a variety developed by plant breeders with UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and released in summer 2011.