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Schuur EAG, Hicks Pries C, Mauritz M, Pegoraro E, Rodenhizer H, See C, Ebert C. Ecosystem and soil respiration radiocarbon detects old carbon release as a fingerprint of warming and permafrost destabilization with climate change. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2023; 381:20220201. [PMID: 37807688 PMCID: PMC10642809 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2022.0201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
The permafrost region has accumulated organic carbon in cold and waterlogged soils over thousands of years and now contains three times as much carbon as the atmosphere. Global warming is degrading permafrost with the potential to accelerate climate change as increased microbial decomposition releases soil carbon as greenhouse gases. A 19-year time series of soil and ecosystem respiration radiocarbon from Alaska provides long-term insight into changing permafrost soil carbon dynamics in a warmer world. Nine per cent of ecosystem respiration and 23% of soil respiration observations had radiocarbon values more than 50‰ lower than the atmospheric value. Furthermore, the overall trend of ecosystem and soil respiration radiocarbon values through time decreased more than atmospheric radiocarbon values did, indicating that old carbon degradation was enhanced. Boosted regression tree analyses showed that temperature and moisture environmental variables had the largest relative influence on lower radiocarbon values. This suggested that old carbon degradation was controlled by warming/permafrost thaw and soil drying together, as waterlogged soil conditions could protect soil carbon from microbial decomposition even when thawed. Overall, changing conditions increasingly favoured the release of old carbon, which is a definitive fingerprint of an accelerating feedback to climate change as a consequence of warming and permafrost destabilization. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Radiocarbon in the Anthropocene'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward A. G. Schuur
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, and Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Caitlin Hicks Pries
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Marguerite Mauritz
- Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79902, USA
| | - Elaine Pegoraro
- Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Craig See
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, and Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
| | - Chris Ebert
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, and Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
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Fu F, Li J, Li Y, Chen W, Ding H, Xiao S. Simulating the effect of climate change on soil microbial community in an Abies georgei var. smithii forest. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1189859. [PMID: 37333631 PMCID: PMC10272780 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1189859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is considered a region vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Studying the effects of climate change on the structure and function of soil microbial communities will provide insight into the carbon cycle under climate change. However, to date, changes in the successional dynamics and stability of microbial communities under the combined effects of climate change (warming or cooling) remain unknown, which limits our ability to predict the consequences of future climate change. In this study, in situ soil columns of an Abies georgei var. smithii forest at 4,300 and 3,500 m elevation in the Sygera Mountains were incubated in pairs for 1 year using the PVC tube method to simulate climate warming and cooling, corresponding to a temperature change of ±4.7°C. Illumina HiSeq sequencing was applied to study alterations in soil bacterial and fungal communities of different soil layers. Results showed that warming did not significantly affect the fungal and bacterial diversity of the 0-10 cm soil layer, but the fungal and bacterial diversity of the 20-30 cm soil layer increased significantly after warming. Warming changed the structure of fungal and bacterial communities in all soil layers (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, and 20-30 cm), and the effect increased with the increase of soil layers. Cooling had almost no significant effect on fungal and bacterial diversity in all soil layers. Cooling changed the structure of fungal communities in all soil layers, but it showed no significant effect on the structure of bacterial communities in all soil layers because fungi are more adapted than bacteria to environments with high soil water content (SWC) and low temperatures. Redundancy analysis (RDA) and hierarchical analysis showed that changes in soil bacterial community structure were primarily related to soil physical and chemical properties, whereas changes in soil fungal community structure primarily affected SWC and soil temperature (Soil Temp). The specialization ratio of fungi and bacteria increased with soil depth, and fungi were significantly higher than bacteria, indicating that climate change has a greater impact on microorganisms in deeper soil layers, and fungi are more sensitive to climate change. Furthermore, a warmer climate could create more ecological niches for microbial species to coexist and increase the strength of microbial interactions, whereas a cooler climate could have the opposite effect. However, we found differences in the intensity of microbial interactions in response to climate change in different soil layers. This study provides new insights to understand and predict future effects of climate change on soil microbes in alpine forest ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangwei Fu
- Research Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- National Key Station of Field Scientific Observation and Experiment, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Alpine Vegetation Ecological Security in Tibet, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
| | - Jiangrong Li
- Research Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- National Key Station of Field Scientific Observation and Experiment, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Alpine Vegetation Ecological Security in Tibet, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment (TPESRE), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yueyao Li
- Research Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- National Key Station of Field Scientific Observation and Experiment, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Alpine Vegetation Ecological Security in Tibet, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
| | - Wensheng Chen
- Research Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- National Key Station of Field Scientific Observation and Experiment, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Alpine Vegetation Ecological Security in Tibet, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
| | - Huihui Ding
- Research Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- National Key Station of Field Scientific Observation and Experiment, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Alpine Vegetation Ecological Security in Tibet, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
| | - Siying Xiao
- Research Institute of Tibet Plateau Ecology, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology in Tibet Plateau, Ministry of Education, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- National Key Station of Field Scientific Observation and Experiment, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
- Key Laboratory of Alpine Vegetation Ecological Security in Tibet, Nyingchi, Tibet, China
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Zhu C, Friman VP, Li L, Xu Q, Guo J, Guo S, Shen Q, Ling N. Meta-analysis of diazotrophic signatures across terrestrial ecosystems at the continental scale. Environ Microbiol 2022; 24:2013-2028. [PMID: 35362656 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation performed by diazotrophs forms a cornerstone of Earth's terrestrial ecosystem productivity. However, the composition, diversity and distribution of soil diazotrophs are poorly understood across different soil ecosystems. Furthermore, the biological potential of the key diazotroph species in relation to key environmental parameters is unknown. To address this, we used meta-analysis approach to merge together 39 independent diazotroph amplicon sequencing (nifH gene) datasets consisting of 1988 independent soil samples. We then employed multiple statistical analyses and machine-learning approaches to compare diazotroph community differences and indicator species between terrestrial ecosystems on a global scale. The distribution, composition and structure of diazotroph communities varied across seven different terrestrial ecosystems, with community composition exhibiting an especially clear effect. The Cyanobacteria were the most abundant taxa in crust ecosystems (accounting for ~45% of diazotrophs), while other terrestrial ecosystems were dominated by Proteobacteria, including Alpha-, Beta- and Gamma-Proteobacteria (accounting for ~70% of diazotrophs). Farmland ecosystems harboured the highest and crust ecosystems the lowest alpha and phylogenetic diversities. Azospirillum zeae, Skermanella aerolata and four Bradyrhizobium species were identified as key indicator species of potential diazotroph activity. Overall, diazotroph abundances and distribution were affected by multiple environmental parameters, including soil pH, nitrogen, organic carbon, C:N ratio and annual mean precipitation and temperature. Together, our findings suggest that based on the relative abundance and diversity of nifH marker gene, diazotrophs have adapted to a range of environmental niches globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Zhu
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Ville-Petri Friman
- Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Ling Li
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Qicheng Xu
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Junjie Guo
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Shiwei Guo
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Qirong Shen
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Ning Ling
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Solid Organic Waste Resource Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
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Pegoraro EF, Mauritz ME, Ogle K, Ebert CH, Schuur EAG. Lower soil moisture and deep soil temperatures in thermokarst features increase old soil carbon loss after 10 years of experimental permafrost warming. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:1293-1308. [PMID: 33305441 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 09/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Almost half of the global terrestrial soil carbon (C) is stored in the northern circumpolar permafrost region, where air temperatures are increasing two times faster than the global average. As climate warms, permafrost thaws and soil organic matter becomes vulnerable to greater microbial decomposition. Long-term soil warming of ice-rich permafrost can result in thermokarst formation that creates variability in environmental conditions. Consequently, plant and microbial proportional contributions to ecosystem respiration may change in response to long-term soil warming. Natural abundance δ13 C and Δ14 C of aboveground and belowground plant material, and of young and old soil respiration were used to inform a mixing model to partition the contribution of each source to ecosystem respiration fluxes. We employed a hierarchical Bayesian approach that incorporated gross primary productivity and environmental drivers to constrain source contributions. We found that long-term experimental permafrost warming introduced a soil hydrology component that interacted with temperature to affect old soil C respiration. Old soil C loss was suppressed in plots with warmer deep soil temperatures because they tended to be wetter. When soil volumetric water content significantly decreased in 2018 relative to 2016 and 2017, the dominant respiration sources shifted from plant aboveground and young soil respiration to old soil respiration. The proportion of ecosystem respiration from old soil C accounted for up to 39% of ecosystem respiration and represented a 30-fold increase compared to the wet-year average. Our findings show that thermokarst formation may act to moderate microbial decomposition of old soil C when soil is highly saturated. However, when soil moisture decreases, a higher proportion of old soil C is vulnerable to decomposition and can become a large flux to the atmosphere. As permafrost systems continue to change with climate, we must understand the thresholds that may propel these systems from a C sink to a source.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine F Pegoraro
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
- Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Marguerite E Mauritz
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
| | - Kiona Ogle
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Christopher H Ebert
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Edward A G Schuur
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
- Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
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Olid C, Klaminder J, Monteux S, Johansson M, Dorrepaal E. Decade of experimental permafrost thaw reduces turnover of young carbon and increases losses of old carbon, without affecting the net carbon balance. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:5886-5898. [PMID: 32681580 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Thicker snowpacks and their insulation effects cause winter-warming and invoke thaw of permafrost ecosystems. Temperature-dependent decomposition of previously frozen carbon (C) is currently considered one of the strongest feedbacks between the Arctic and the climate system, but the direction and magnitude of the net C balance remains uncertain. This is because winter effects are rarely integrated with C fluxes during the snow-free season and because predicting the net C balance from both surface processes and thawing deep layers remains challenging. In this study, we quantified changes in the long-term net C balance (net ecosystem production) in a subarctic peat plateau subjected to 10 years of experimental winter-warming. By combining 210 Pb and 14 Cdating of peat cores with peat growth models, we investigated thawing effects on year-round primary production and C losses through respiration and leaching from both shallow and deep peat layers. Winter-warming and permafrost thaw had no effect on the net C balance, but strongly affected gross C fluxes. Carbon losses through decomposition from the upper peat were reduced as thawing of permafrost induced surface subsidence and subsequent waterlogging. However, primary production was also reduced likely due to a strong decline in bryophytes cover while losses from the old C pool almost tripled, caused by the deepened active layer. Our findings highlight the need to estimate long-term responses of whole-year production and decomposition processes to thawing, both in shallow and deep soil layers, as they may contrast and lead to unexpected net effects on permafrost C storage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Olid
- Climate Impacts Research Centre (CIRC), Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Jonatan Klaminder
- Climate Impacts Research Centre (CIRC), Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Sylvain Monteux
- Climate Impacts Research Centre (CIRC), Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Margareta Johansson
- Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- Royal Swedish Academy of Science, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ellen Dorrepaal
- Climate Impacts Research Centre (CIRC), Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
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Hutchins RHS, Tank SE, Olefeldt D, Quinton WL, Spence C, Dion N, Estop-Aragonés C, Mengistu SG. Fluvial CO 2 and CH 4 patterns across wildfire-disturbed ecozones of subarctic Canada: Current status and implications for future change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:2304-2319. [PMID: 31834984 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/28/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Despite occupying a small fraction of the landscape, fluvial networks are disproportionately large emitters of CO2 and CH4 , with the potential to offset terrestrial carbon sinks. Yet the extent of this offset remains uncertain, because current estimates of fluvial emissions often do not integrate beyond individual river reaches and over the entire fluvial network in complex landscapes. Here we studied broad patterns of concentrations and isotopic signatures of CO2 and CH4 in 50 streams in the western boreal biome of Canada, across an area of 250,000 km2 . Our study watersheds differ starkly in their geology (sedimentary and shield), permafrost extent (sporadic to extensive discontinuous) and land cover (large variability in lake and wetland extents). We also investigated the effect of wildfire, as half of our study streams drained watersheds affected by megafires that occurred 3 years prior. Similar to other boreal regions, we found that stream CO2 concentrations were primarily associated with greater terrestrial productivity and warmer climates, and decreased downstream within the fluvial network. No effects of recent wildfire, bedrock geology or land cover composition were found. The isotopic signatures suggested dominance of biogenic CO2 sources, despite dominant carbonate bedrock in parts of the study region. Fluvial CH4 concentrations had a high variability which could not be explained by any landscape factors. Estimated fluvial CO2 emissions were 0.63 (0.09-6.06, 95% CI) and 0.29 (0.17-0.44, 95% CI) g C m-2 year-1 at the landscape scale using a stream network modelling and a mass balance approach, respectively, a small but potentially important component of the landscape C balance. These fluvial CO2 emissions are lower than in other northern regions, likely due to a drier climate. Overall, our study suggests that fluvial CO2 emissions are unlikely to be sensitive to altered fire regimes, but that warming and permafrost thaw will increase emissions significantly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan H S Hutchins
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Suzanne E Tank
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - David Olefeldt
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - William L Quinton
- Cold Regions Research Centre, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Christopher Spence
- National Hydrology Research Centre, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Nicole Dion
- Water Resources Department, Government of Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, NT, Canada
| | | | - Samson G Mengistu
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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Feng J, Wang C, Lei J, Yang Y, Yan Q, Zhou X, Tao X, Ning D, Yuan MM, Qin Y, Shi ZJ, Guo X, He Z, Van Nostrand JD, Wu L, Bracho-Garillo RG, Penton CR, Cole JR, Konstantinidis KT, Luo Y, Schuur EAG, Tiedje JM, Zhou J. Warming-induced permafrost thaw exacerbates tundra soil carbon decomposition mediated by microbial community. MICROBIOME 2020; 8:3. [PMID: 31952472 PMCID: PMC6969446 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-019-0778-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It is well-known that global warming has effects on high-latitude tundra underlain with permafrost. This leads to a severe concern that decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC) previously stored in this region, which accounts for about 50% of the world's SOC storage, will cause positive feedback that accelerates climate warming. We have previously shown that short-term warming (1.5 years) stimulates rapid, microbe-mediated decomposition of tundra soil carbon without affecting the composition of the soil microbial community (based on the depth of 42684 sequence reads of 16S rRNA gene amplicons per 3 g of soil sample). RESULTS We show that longer-term (5 years) experimental winter warming at the same site altered microbial communities (p < 0.040). Thaw depth correlated the strongest with community assembly and interaction networks, implying that warming-accelerated tundra thaw fundamentally restructured the microbial communities. Both carbon decomposition and methanogenesis genes increased in relative abundance under warming, and their functional structures strongly correlated (R2 > 0.725, p < 0.001) with ecosystem respiration or CH4 flux. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that microbial responses associated with carbon cycling could lead to positive feedbacks that accelerate SOC decomposition in tundra regions, which is alarming because SOC loss is unlikely to subside owing to changes in microbial community composition. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajie Feng
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Cong Wang
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Jiesi Lei
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yunfeng Yang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
| | - Qingyun Yan
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Xishu Zhou
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China
| | - Xuanyu Tao
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Daliang Ning
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Mengting M Yuan
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Yujia Qin
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Zhou J Shi
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Xue Guo
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Zhili He
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Joy D Van Nostrand
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Liyou Wu
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Rosvel G Bracho-Garillo
- School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - C Ryan Penton
- Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ, 85212, USA
- College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Faculty of Science and Mathematics, Arizona State University, Mesa, Arizona, 85212, USA
| | - James R Cole
- Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Konstantinos T Konstantinidis
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Biology, and Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Genomics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Yiqi Luo
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Edward A G Schuur
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - James M Tiedje
- Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
- DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
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Tundra microbial community taxa and traits predict decomposition parameters of stable, old soil organic carbon. ISME JOURNAL 2019; 13:2901-2915. [PMID: 31384013 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-019-0485-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Revised: 04/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The susceptibility of soil organic carbon (SOC) in tundra to microbial decomposition under warmer climate scenarios potentially threatens a massive positive feedback to climate change, but the underlying mechanisms of stable SOC decomposition remain elusive. Herein, Alaskan tundra soils from three depths (a fibric O horizon with litter and course roots, an O horizon with decomposing litter and roots, and a mineral-organic mix, laying just above the permafrost) were incubated. Resulting respiration data were assimilated into a 3-pool model to derive decomposition kinetic parameters for fast, slow, and passive SOC pools. Bacterial, archaeal, and fungal taxa and microbial functional genes were profiled throughout the 3-year incubation. Correlation analyses and a Random Forest approach revealed associations between model parameters and microbial community profiles, taxa, and traits. There were more associations between the microbial community data and the SOC decomposition parameters of slow and passive SOC pools than those of the fast SOC pool. Also, microbial community profiles were better predictors of model parameters in deeper soils, which had higher mineral contents and relatively greater quantities of old SOC than in surface soils. Overall, our analyses revealed the functional potential of microbial communities to decompose tundra SOC through a suite of specialized genes and taxa. These results portray divergent strategies by which microbial communities access SOC pools across varying depths, lending mechanistic insights into the vulnerability of what is considered stable SOC in tundra regions.
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Responses of tundra soil microbial communities to half a decade of experimental warming at two critical depths. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:15096-15105. [PMID: 31285347 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1901307116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Northern-latitude tundra soils harbor substantial carbon (C) stocks that are highly susceptible to microbial degradation with rising global temperatures. Understanding the magnitude and direction (e.g., C release or sequestration) of the microbial responses to warming is necessary to accurately model climate change. In this study, Alaskan tundra soils were subjected to experimental in situ warming by ∼1.1 °C above ambient temperature, and the microbial communities were evaluated using metagenomics after 4.5 years, at 2 depths: 15 to 25 cm (active layer at outset of the experiment) and 45 to 55 cm (transition zone at the permafrost/active layer boundary at the outset of the experiment). In contrast to small or insignificant shifts after 1.5 years of warming, 4.5 years of warming resulted in significant changes to the abundances of functional traits and the corresponding taxa relative to control plots (no warming), and microbial shifts differed qualitatively between the two soil depths. At 15 to 25 cm, increased abundances of carbohydrate utilization genes were observed that correlated with (increased) measured ecosystem carbon respiration. At the 45- to 55-cm layer, increased methanogenesis potential was observed, which corresponded with a 3-fold increase in abundance of a single archaeal clade of the Methanosarcinales order, increased annual thaw duration (45.3 vs. 79.3 days), and increased CH4 emissions. Collectively, these data demonstrate that the microbial responses to warming in tundra soil are rapid and markedly different between the 2 critical soil layers evaluated, and identify potential biomarkers for the corresponding microbial processes that could be important in modeling.
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10
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Yang G, Peng Y, Marushchak ME, Chen Y, Wang G, Li F, Zhang D, Wang J, Yu J, Liu L, Qin S, Kou D, Yang Y. Magnitude and Pathways of Increased Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Uplands Following Permafrost Thaw. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2018; 52:9162-9169. [PMID: 29984572 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b02271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Permafrost thawing may release nitrous oxide (N2O) due to large N storage in cold environments. However, N2O emissions from permafrost regions have received little attention to date, particularly with respect to the underlying microbial mechanisms. We examined the magnitude of N2O fluxes following upland thermokarst formation along a 20-year thaw sequence within a thermo-erosion gully in a Tibetan swamp meadow. We also determined the importance of environmental factors and the related microbial functional gene abundance. Our results showed that permafrost thawing led to a mass release of N2O in recently collapsed sites (3 years ago), particularly in exposed soil patches, which presented post-thaw emission rates equivalent to those from agricultural and tropical soils. In addition to abiotic factors, soil microorganisms exerted significant effects on the variability in the N2O emissions along the thaw sequence and between vegetated and exposed patches. Overall, our results demonstrate that upland thermokarst formation can lead to enhanced N2O emissions, and that the global warming potential (GWP) of N2O at the thermokarst sites can reach 60% of the GWP of CH4 (vs ∼6% in control sites), highlighting the potentially strong noncarbon (C) feedback to climate warming in permafrost regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guibiao Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Yunfeng Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
| | - Maija E Marushchak
- Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences , University of Eastern Finland , Kuopio 70211 , Finland
| | - Yongliang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
| | - Guanqin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Fei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Dianye Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Jun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Jianchun Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Li Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Shuqi Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Dan Kou
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Yuanhe Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change , Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100093 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
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11
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Yuan MM, Zhang J, Xue K, Wu L, Deng Y, Deng J, Hale L, Zhou X, He Z, Yang Y, Van Nostrand JD, Schuur EAG, Konstantinidis KT, Penton CR, Cole JR, Tiedje JM, Luo Y, Zhou J. Microbial functional diversity covaries with permafrost thaw-induced environmental heterogeneity in tundra soil. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2018; 24:297-307. [PMID: 28715138 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/06/2017] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Permafrost soil in high latitude tundra is one of the largest terrestrial carbon (C) stocks and is highly sensitive to climate warming. Understanding microbial responses to warming-induced environmental changes is critical to evaluating their influences on soil biogeochemical cycles. In this study, a functional gene array (i.e., geochip 4.2) was used to analyze the functional capacities of soil microbial communities collected from a naturally degrading permafrost region in Central Alaska. Varied thaw history was reported to be the main driver of soil and plant differences across a gradient of minimally, moderately, and extensively thawed sites. Compared with the minimally thawed site, the number of detected functional gene probes across the 15-65 cm depth profile at the moderately and extensively thawed sites decreased by 25% and 5%, while the community functional gene β-diversity increased by 34% and 45%, respectively, revealing decreased functional gene richness but increased community heterogeneity along the thaw progression. Particularly, the moderately thawed site contained microbial communities with the highest abundances of many genes involved in prokaryotic C degradation, ammonification, and nitrification processes, but lower abundances of fungal C decomposition and anaerobic-related genes. Significant correlations were observed between functional gene abundance and vascular plant primary productivity, suggesting that plant growth and species composition could be co-evolving traits together with microbial community composition. Altogether, this study reveals the complex responses of microbial functional potentials to thaw-related soil and plant changes and provides information on potential microbially mediated biogeochemical cycles in tundra ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengting M Yuan
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Jin Zhang
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Kai Xue
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Liyou Wu
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Ye Deng
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Deng
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lauren Hale
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Xishu Zhou
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Zhili He
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Yunfeng Yang
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Joy D Van Nostrand
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Edward A G Schuur
- Center for Ecosystem Sciences and Society, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
| | - Konstantinos T Konstantinidis
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Christopher R Penton
- College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University, Mesa, AZ, USA
| | - James R Cole
- Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - James M Tiedje
- Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Yiqi Luo
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
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12
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Salmon VG, Soucy P, Mauritz M, Celis G, Natali SM, Mack MC, Schuur EAG. Nitrogen availability increases in a tundra ecosystem during five years of experimental permafrost thaw. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2016; 22:1927-1941. [PMID: 26718892 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2015] [Revised: 11/19/2015] [Accepted: 12/01/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Perennially frozen soil in high latitude ecosystems (permafrost) currently stores 1330-1580 Pg of carbon (C). As these ecosystems warm, the thaw and decomposition of permafrost is expected to release large amounts of C to the atmosphere. Fortunately, losses from the permafrost C pool will be partially offset by increased plant productivity. The degree to which plants are able to sequester C, however, will be determined by changing nitrogen (N) availability in these thawing soil profiles. N availability currently limits plant productivity in tundra ecosystems but plant access to N is expected improve as decomposition increases in speed and extends to deeper soil horizons. To evaluate the relationship between permafrost thaw and N availability, we monitored N cycling during 5 years of experimentally induced permafrost thaw at the Carbon in Permafrost Experimental Heating Research (CiPEHR) project. Inorganic N availability increased significantly in response to deeper thaw and greater soil moisture induced by Soil warming. This treatment also prompted a 23% increase in aboveground biomass and a 49% increase in foliar N pools. The sedge Eriophorum vaginatum responded most strongly to warming: this species explained 91% of the change in aboveground biomass during the 5 year period. Air warming had little impact when applied alone, but when applied in combination with Soil warming, growing season soil inorganic N availability was significantly reduced. These results demonstrate that there is a strong positive relationship between the depth of permafrost thaw and N availability in tundra ecosystems but that this relationship can be diminished by interactions between increased thaw, warmer air temperatures, and higher levels of soil moisture. Within 5 years of permafrost thaw, plants actively incorporate newly available N into biomass but C storage in live vascular plant biomass is unlikely to be greater than losses from deep soil C pools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verity G Salmon
- Biology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Patrick Soucy
- Biology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Marguerite Mauritz
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Gerardo Celis
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | | | - Michelle C Mack
- Biology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
| | - Edward A G Schuur
- Biology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA
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13
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Johnston ER, Rodriguez-R LM, Luo C, Yuan MM, Wu L, He Z, Schuur EAG, Luo Y, Tiedje JM, Zhou J, Konstantinidis KT. Metagenomics Reveals Pervasive Bacterial Populations and Reduced Community Diversity across the Alaska Tundra Ecosystem. Front Microbiol 2016; 7:579. [PMID: 27199914 PMCID: PMC4842900 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2015] [Accepted: 04/08/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
How soil microbial communities contrast with respect to taxonomic and functional composition within and between ecosystems remains an unresolved question that is central to predicting how global anthropogenic change will affect soil functioning and services. In particular, it remains unclear how small-scale observations of soil communities based on the typical volume sampled (1-2 g) are generalizable to ecosystem-scale responses and processes. This is especially relevant for remote, northern latitude soils, which are challenging to sample and are also thought to be more vulnerable to climate change compared to temperate soils. Here, we employed well-replicated shotgun metagenome and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize community composition and metabolic potential in Alaskan tundra soils, combining our own datasets with those publically available from distant tundra and temperate grassland and agriculture habitats. We found that the abundance of many taxa and metabolic functions differed substantially between tundra soil metagenomes relative to those from temperate soils, and that a high degree of OTU-sharing exists between tundra locations. Tundra soils were an order of magnitude less complex than their temperate counterparts, allowing for near-complete coverage of microbial community richness (~92% breadth) by sequencing, and the recovery of 27 high-quality, almost complete (>80% completeness) population bins. These population bins, collectively, made up to ~10% of the metagenomic datasets, and represented diverse taxonomic groups and metabolic lifestyles tuned toward sulfur cycling, hydrogen metabolism, methanotrophy, and organic matter oxidation. Several population bins, including members of Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria, were also present in geographically distant (~100-530 km apart) tundra habitats (full genome representation and up to 99.6% genome-derived average nucleotide identity). Collectively, our results revealed that Alaska tundra microbial communities are less diverse and more homogenous across spatial scales than previously anticipated, and provided DNA sequences of abundant populations and genes that would be relevant for future studies of the effects of environmental change on tundra ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric R Johnston
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA, USA
| | - Luis M Rodriguez-R
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Genomics, Georgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaGA, USA; School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaGA, USA
| | - Chengwei Luo
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Genomics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta GA, USA
| | - Mengting M Yuan
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK, USA
| | - Liyou Wu
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK, USA
| | - Zhili He
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK, USA
| | - Edward A G Schuur
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff AZ, USA
| | - Yiqi Luo
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK, USA
| | - James M Tiedje
- Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI, USA
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, NormanOK, USA; Earth Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, BerkeleyCA, USA; State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Konstantinos T Konstantinidis
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaGA, USA; Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Genomics, Georgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaGA, USA; School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, AtlantaGA, USA
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14
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Hicks Pries CE, van Logtestijn RSP, Schuur EAG, Natali SM, Cornelissen JHC, Aerts R, Dorrepaal E. Decadal warming causes a consistent and persistent shift from heterotrophic to autotrophic respiration in contrasting permafrost ecosystems. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2015; 21:4508-4519. [PMID: 26150277 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2015] [Accepted: 06/10/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Soil carbon in permafrost ecosystems has the potential to become a major positive feedback to climate change if permafrost thaw increases heterotrophic decomposition. However, warming can also stimulate autotrophic production leading to increased ecosystem carbon storage-a negative climate change feedback. Few studies partitioning ecosystem respiration examine decadal warming effects or compare responses among ecosystems. Here, we first examined how 11 years of warming during different seasons affected autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration in a bryophyte-dominated peatland in Abisko, Sweden. We used natural abundance radiocarbon to partition ecosystem respiration into autotrophic respiration, associated with production, and heterotrophic decomposition. Summertime warming decreased the age of carbon respired by the ecosystem due to increased proportional contributions from autotrophic and young soil respiration and decreased proportional contributions from old soil. Summertime warming's large effect was due to not only warmer air temperatures during the growing season, but also to warmer deep soils year-round. Second, we compared ecosystem respiration responses between two contrasting ecosystems, the Abisko peatland and a tussock-dominated tundra in Healy, Alaska. Each ecosystem had two different timescales of warming (<5 years and over a decade). Despite the Abisko peatland having greater ecosystem respiration and larger contributions from heterotrophic respiration than the Healy tundra, both systems responded consistently to short- and long-term warming with increased respiration, increased autotrophic contributions to ecosystem respiration, and increased ratios of autotrophic to heterotrophic respiration. We did not detect an increase in old soil carbon losses with warming at either site. If increased autotrophic respiration is balanced by increased primary production, as is the case in the Healy tundra, warming will not cause these ecosystems to become growing season carbon sources. Warming instead causes a persistent shift from heterotrophic to more autotrophic control of the growing season carbon cycle in these carbon-rich permafrost ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin E Hicks Pries
- Earth Sciences Division, Climate Sciences Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Richard S P van Logtestijn
- Department of Systems Ecology, Institute of Ecological Science, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, NL-1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Edward A G Schuur
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Susan M Natali
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Johannes H C Cornelissen
- Department of Systems Ecology, Institute of Ecological Science, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, NL-1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Rien Aerts
- Department of Systems Ecology, Institute of Ecological Science, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, NL-1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Ellen Dorrepaal
- Climate Impacts Research Centre, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, S-981 07, Abisko, Sweden
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15
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Differences in Ecosystem Carbon Distribution and Nutrient Cycling Linked to Forest Tree Species Composition in a Mid-Successional Boreal Forest. Ecosystems 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10021-015-9912-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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17
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Karelin DV, Zamolodchikov DG. Carbon balance in tundra under contemporary climate: significance of belowground net carbon flux. DOKLADY BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES : PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE USSR, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES SECTIONS 2014; 458:286-288. [PMID: 25371254 DOI: 10.1134/s0012496614050032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- D V Karelin
- Biological Faculty, Moscow State University, Moscow, 119992, Russia,
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18
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Moen J, Rist L, Bishop K, Chapin FS, Ellison D, Kuuluvainen T, Petersson H, Puettmann KJ, Rayner J, Warkentin IG, Bradshaw CJA. Eye on the Taiga: Removing Global Policy Impediments to Safeguard the Boreal Forest. Conserv Lett 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/conl.12098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jon Moen
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science; Umeå University; SE-90187 Umeå Sweden
| | - Lucy Rist
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science; Umeå University; SE-90187 Umeå Sweden
| | - Kevin Bishop
- Department of Aquatic sciences and Assessment; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Box 7050 SE-75007 Uppsala Sweden
- Department of Earth Sciences; Uppsala University; SE-75236 Uppsala Sweden
| | - F. S. Chapin
- Institute of Arctic Biology; University of Alaska Fairbanks; Fairbanks AK 99775 USA
| | - David Ellison
- Department of Forest Resource Management; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; SE-90183 Umeå Sweden
| | - Timo Kuuluvainen
- Department of Forest Sciences; University of Helsinki; FIN-00014 Helsinki; Finland
| | - Hans Petersson
- Department of Forest Resource Management; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; SE-90183 Umeå Sweden
| | - Klaus J. Puettmann
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society; Oregon State University; Corvallis OR 97330 USA
| | - Jeremy Rayner
- Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy; University of Saskatchewan; Saskatoon SK S7N 5B8 Canada
| | - Ian G. Warkentin
- Environmental Science (Biology); Memorial University of Newfoundland; Corner Brook NL; A2H 6P9 Canada
| | - Corey J. A. Bradshaw
- The Environment Institute and School of Earth and Environmental Sciences; The University of Adelaide; Adelaide South Australia 5005 Australia
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Varotsos CA, Franzke CLE, Efstathiou MN, Degermendzhi AG. Evidence for two abrupt warming events of SST in the last century. THEORETICAL AND APPLIED CLIMATOLOGY 2014; 116:51-60. [DOI: 10.1007/s00704-013-0935-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
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20
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Natali SM, Schuur EAG, Webb EE, Pries CEH, Crummer KG. Permafrost degradation stimulates carbon loss from experimentally warmed tundra. Ecology 2014; 95:602-8. [DOI: 10.1890/13-0602.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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21
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Belshe EF, Schuur EAG, Bolker BM. Tundra ecosystems observed to be CO2sources due to differential amplification of the carbon cycle. Ecol Lett 2013; 16:1307-15. [DOI: 10.1111/ele.12164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2013] [Revised: 06/03/2013] [Accepted: 07/10/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- E. F. Belshe
- Department of Biology; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - E. A. G. Schuur
- Department of Biology; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - B. M. Bolker
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics; McMaster University; Hamilton ON L8S 4K1 USA
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22
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Hicks Pries CE, Schuur EAG, Crummer KG. Thawing permafrost increases old soil and autotrophic respiration in tundra: partitioning ecosystem respiration using δ(13) C and ∆(14) C. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2013; 19:649-661. [PMID: 23504799 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2012] [Accepted: 09/27/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Ecosystem respiration (Reco ) is one of the largest terrestrial carbon (C) fluxes. The effect of climate change on Reco depends on the responses of its autotrophic and heterotrophic components. How autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration sources respond to climate change is especially important in ecosystems underlain by permafrost. Permafrost ecosystems contain vast stores of soil C (1672 Pg) and are located in northern latitudes where climate change is accelerated. Warming will cause a positive feedback to climate change if heterotrophic respiration increases without corresponding increases in primary production. We quantified the response of autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration to permafrost thaw across the 2008 and 2009 growing seasons. We partitioned Reco using Δ(14) C and δ(13) C into four sources-two autotrophic (above - and belowground plant structures) and two heterotrophic (young and old soil). We sampled the Δ(14) C and δ(13) C of sources using incubations and the Δ(14) C and δ(13) C of Reco using field measurements. We then used a Bayesian mixing model to solve for the most likely contributions of each source to Reco . Autotrophic respiration ranged from 40 to 70% of Reco and was greatest at the height of the growing season. Old soil heterotrophic respiration ranged from 6 to 18% of Reco and was greatest where permafrost thaw was deepest. Overall, growing season fluxes of autotrophic and old soil heterotrophic respiration increased as permafrost thaw deepened. Areas with greater thaw also had the greatest primary production. Warming in permafrost ecosystems therefore leads to increased plant and old soil respiration that is initially compensated by increased net primary productivity. However, barring large shifts in plant community composition, future increases in old soil respiration will likely outpace productivity, resulting in a positive feedback to climate change.
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23
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Trucco C, Schuur EAG, Natali SM, Belshe EF, Bracho R, Vogel J. Seven-year trends of CO2exchange in a tundra ecosystem affected by long-term permafrost thaw. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/2011jg001907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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