The paleoclimatic footprint in the soil carbon stock of the Tibetan permafrost region

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Ding, Jinzhi, Wang, Tao Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing . Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research and CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences; Lanzhou Univ., Piao, Shilong Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing . Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research and CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences; Peking Univ., Beijing . Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science; Univ. of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Smith, Pete Univ. of Aberdeen, Aberdeen . Inst. of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zhang, Ganlin Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, Yan, Zhengjie Lanzhou Univ., Ren, Shuai Peking Univ. Shenzhen . Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Circular Economy, Liu, Dan Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing . Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Wang, Shiping Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing . Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chen, Shengyun Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu . State Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Science Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Dai, Fuqiang Chongqing Technology and Business Univ., Chongqing, He, Jinsheng Peking Univ., Beijing, Li, Yingnian Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, Qinghai . Key Lab. of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Inst. of Plateau Biology, Liu, Yongwen Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing . Key Laboratory of Alpine Ecology, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research and CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Mao, Jiafu Oak Ridge National Lab. , Oak Ridge, TN, Arain, Altaf McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON . McMaster Centre for Climate Change, Tian, Hanqin Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL . International Center for Climate and Global Change Research, Shi, Xiaoying Oak Ridge National Lab. , Oak Ridge, TN, Yang, Yuanhe Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing . State Key Lab. of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Inst. of Botany, Zeng, Ning Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD, Zhao, Lin Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou . Cryosphere Research Station on Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, State Key Lab. of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Inst. of Eco–Environment and Resources
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; permafrost
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1648862; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1648862; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12214-5

Tibetan permafrost largely formed during the late Pleistocene glacial period and shrank in the Holocene Thermal Maximum period. Quantifying the impacts of paleoclimatic extremes on soil carbon stock can shed light on the vulnerability of permafrost carbon in the future. Here, we synthesize data from 1114 sites across the Tibetan permafrost region to report that paleoclimate is more important than modern climate in shaping current permafrost carbon distribution, and its importance increases with soil depth, mainly through forming the soil's physiochemical properties. We derive a new estimate of modern soil carbon stock to 3 m depth by including the paleoclimate effects, and find that the stock ( 36 .6 − 2 .4 + 2 .3 PgC) is triple that predicted by ecosystem models (11.5 ± 4.2 s.e.m PgC), which use pre-industrial climate to initialize the soil carbon pool. The discrepancy highlights the urgent need to incorporate paleoclimate information into model initialization for simulating permafrost soil carbon stocks.