Assessing the Potential for Mobilization of Old Soil Carbon After Permafrost Thaw: A Synthesis of 14 C Measurements From the Northern Permafrost Region

• Published in: Global Biogeochemical Cycles
• Main Authors: Estop‐aragonés, Cristian, Olefeldt, David, Abbott, Benjamin, Chanton, Jeffrey, Czimczik, Claudia, Dean, Joshua, Egan, Jocelyn, Gandois, Laure, Garnett, Mark, Hartley, Iain, Hoyt, Alison, Lupascu, Massimo, Natali, Susan, O'Donnell, Jonathan, Raymond, Peter, Tanentzap, Andrew, Tank, Suzanne, Schuur, Edward, Turetsky, Merritt, Anthony, Katey
• Other Authors: Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (LEFE), Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales Toulouse (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes; permafrost; Thermokarst; Tundra
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03420668; https://hal.science/hal-03420668/document; https://hal.science/hal-03420668/file/2020GB006672.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gb006672

International audience The magnitude of future emissions of greenhouse gases from the northern permafrost region depends crucially on the mineralization of soil organic carbon (SOC) that has accumulated over millennia in these perennially frozen soils. Many recent studies have used radiocarbon (14 C) to quantify the release of this "old" SOC as CO 2 or CH 4 to the atmosphere or as dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) to surface waters. We compiled~1,900 14 C measurements from 51 sites in the northern permafrost region to assess the vulnerability of thawing SOC in tundra, forest, peatland, lake, and river ecosystems. We found that growing season soil 14 C-CO 2 emissions generally had a modern (post-1950s) signature, but that well-drained, oxic soils had increased CO 2 emissions derived from older sources following recent thaw. The age of CO 2 and CH 4 emitted from lakes depended primarily on the age and quantity of SOC in sediments and on the mode of emission, and indicated substantial losses of previously frozen SOC from actively expanding thermokarst lakes. Increased fluvial export of aged DOC and POC occurred from sites where permafrost thaw caused soil thermal erosion. There was limited evidence supporting release of previously frozen SOC as CO 2 , CH 4 , and DOC from thawing peatlands with anoxic soils. This synthesis thus suggests widespread but not universal release of permafrost SOC following thaw. We show that different definitions of "old" sources among studies hamper the comparison of vulnerability of permafrost SOC across ecosystems and disturbances. We also highlight opportunities for future 14 C studies in the permafrost region.