Determinants of carbon release from the active layer and permafrost deposits on the Tibetan Plateau

The sign and magnitude of permafrost carbon (C)-climate feedback are highly uncertain due to the limited understanding of the decomposability of thawing permafrost and relevant mechanistic controls over C release. Here, by combining aerobic incubation with biomarker analysis and a three-pool model,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: Chen, Leiyi, Liang, Junyi, Qin, Shuqi, Liu, Li, Fang, Kai, Xu, Yunping, Ding, Jinzhi, Li, Fei, Luo, Yiqi, Yang, Yuanhe
Other Authors: Yang, YH (reprint author), Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Bot, State Key Lab Vegetat & Environm Change, Beijing 100093, Peoples R China., Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Bot, State Key Lab Vegetat & Environm Change, Beijing 100093, Peoples R China., Univ Oklahoma, Dept Bot & Microbiol, Norman, OK 73019 USA., Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China., Peking Univ, Coll Urban & Environm Sciecnces, Minist Educ, Key Lab Earth Surface Proc, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China., Shanghai Ocean Univ, Coll Marine Sci, Shanghai Engn Res Ctr Hadal Sci & Technol, Shanghai 201306, Peoples R China.
Format: Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS 2016
Subjects:
SOIL ORGANIC-MATTER
MONITORING CALM SITES
TRACE GAS-PRODUCTION
INCUBATION DATA
CLIMATE-CHANGE
TEMPERATURE SENSITIVITY
CO2 PRODUCTION
TUNDRA
SIBERIA
VULNERABILITY
permafrost
Tundra
Siberia
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11897/492658
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13046
Description
Summary:The sign and magnitude of permafrost carbon (C)-climate feedback are highly uncertain due to the limited understanding of the decomposability of thawing permafrost and relevant mechanistic controls over C release. Here, by combining aerobic incubation with biomarker analysis and a three-pool model, we reveal that C quality (represented by a higher amount of fast cycling C but a lower amount of recalcitrant C compounds) and normalized CO2-C release in permafrost deposits were similar or even higher than those in the active layer, demonstrating a high vulnerability of C in Tibetan upland permafrost. We also illustrate that C quality exerts the most control over CO2-C release from the active layer, whereas soil microbial abundance is more directly associated with CO2-C release after permafrost thaw. Taken together, our findings highlight the importance of incorporating microbial properties into Earth System Models when predicting permafrost C dynamics under a changing environment. National Basic Research Program of China on Global Change [2014CB954001, 2015CB954201]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [31322011, 41371213, 31400364]; Chinese Academy of Sciences-Peking University Pioneer Collaboration Team; Thousand Young Talents Program SCI(E) PubMed ARTICLE yhyang@ibcas.ac.cn 13046 7

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