A globally relevant stock of soil nitrogen in the Yedoma permafrost domain

Nitrogen regulates multiple aspects of the permafrost climate feedback, including plant growth, organic matter decomposition, and the production of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Despite its importance, current estimates of permafrost nitrogen are highly uncertain. Here, we compiled a data...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: Strauss, Jens, Biasi, Christina, Sanders, Tina, Abbott, Benjamin W., von Deimling, Thomas Schneider, Voigt, Carolina, Winkel, Matthias, Marushchak, Maija E., Kou, Dan, Fuchs, Matthias, Horn, Marcus A., Jongejans, Loeka L., Liebner, Susanne, Nitzbon, Jan, Schirrmeister, Lutz, Anthony, Katey Walter, Yang, Yuanhe, Zubrzycki, Sebastian, Laboor, Sebastian, Treat, Claire, Grosse, Guido
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: NATURE PORTFOLIO 2022
Subjects:
Multidisciplinary Sciences
ORGANIC-MATTER
CARBON STORAGE
DYNAMICS
AVAILABILITY
INCREASES
ECOSYSTEM
PATTERNS
IMPACTS
RELEASE
EROSION
Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
permafrost
Online Access:http://ir.ibcas.ac.cn/handle/2S10CLM1/28770
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33794-9
Description
Summary:Nitrogen regulates multiple aspects of the permafrost climate feedback, including plant growth, organic matter decomposition, and the production of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Despite its importance, current estimates of permafrost nitrogen are highly uncertain. Here, we compiled a dataset of >2000 samples to quantify nitrogen stocks in the Yedoma domain, a region with organic-rich permafrost that contains similar to 25% of all permafrost carbon. We estimate that the Yedoma domain contains 41.2 gigatons of nitrogen down to similar to 20metre for the deepest unit, which increases the previous estimate for the entire permafrost zone by similar to 46%. Approximately 90% of this nitrogen (37 gigatons) is stored in permafrost and therefore currently immobile and frozen. Here, we show that of this amount, 3/4 is stored >3 metre depth, but if partially mobilised by thaw, this large nitrogen pool could have continental-scale consequences for soil and aquatic biogeochemistry and global-scale consequences for the permafrost feedback.

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