| Summary: | Increased organic mater decomposition rate in Arctic Cryosols due to warming and to permafrost thawing can lead to the release of greenhouse gases, thus potentially creating a positive feedback on climate change. We aim to assess the interactions between the thermal regime, the hydric behaviour and the biogeochemical functioning of two different permafrostaffected soils (i.e. Cryosols), one being developed in frozen peat (Histic Cryosol: H), the other being developed in postglacial marine clays (Turbic Cryosol: T), both in natural conditions and under an experimental warming. Profiles were instrumented in Salluit (Nunavik, Canada; 62°14’N, 75°38’W) and monitored during summers 2010 and 2011. Both thermal monitoring and modeling results stressed differences between sites due to the insulating properties of dried peat in summer the active layer at the H site is thinner than at the T site. The induced warming increased CO2 fluxes in both soils; this impact was however more striking at H even if ecosystem respiration (ER) was lower than at T. Temperature sensitivity of ER (Q10), which decreased with warming, was higher at T than at H. We highlighted that diurnal ER cycles showed hysteretic loops as a function of soil surface temperatures. Linear models performed to explain ER variance were improved when we added daily minimum temperature and thaw front depth at H. In contrast at T, adding wind speed and solar radiation in models improved the ER variance explanation. We showed three specific CO2 flux dynamics related to northern ecosystems: 1) the large difference of ER depending on soil properties and soil solution composition; 2) environmental variables strongly alter CO2 fluxes and 3) the diurnal Q10 variations and the inter annual variability of basal respiration. Our results support the assumption that organic matter decomposition might be the major source of CO2 at H while plant-derived processes dominated ER at T. Finally, the thaw front depth controlled solute concentrations in the soil solution at H and T. ...
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