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[Report] The whole-soil carbon flux in response to warming

ScienceNOW - Fetched: March 31st, 2017, 3:00pm UTC

Soil organic carbon harbors three times as much carbon as Earth’s atmosphere, and its decomposition is a potentially large climate change feedback and major source of uncertainty in climate projections. The response of whole-soil profiles to warming has not been tested in situ. In a deep warming experiment in mineral soil, we found that CO2 production from all soil depths increased with 4°C warming; annual soil respiration increased by 34 to 37%. All depths responded to warming with similar temperature sensitivities, driven by decomposition of decadal-aged carbon. Whole-soil warming reveals a larger soil respiration response than many in situ experiments (most of which only warm the surface soil) and models. Authors: Caitlin E. Hicks Pries, C. Castanha, R. C. Porras, M. S. Torn

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