Researchers are using tiny video cameras to study how high-carbon ecosystems respond to elevated temperatures and levels of carbon dioxide.

The researchers are using the cameras to take images of roots, in wetlands. These cameras are an improvement over previous technology because they don’t harm the plants and allow researchers to examine a living root in the context of a soil environment.

One of the reasons scientists are interested in high-carbon ecosystems is because they cover only three percent of global land surface, but store nearly one-third of terrestrial carbon. If the planet continues to warm, researchers hypothesize that bogs will dry out and more oxygen will be made available for microbial decomposition, which could lead to a massive release of carbon into the atmosphere, resulting in more warming.