On the formation of high-latitude soil carbon stocks: Effects of cryoturbation and insulation by organic matter in a land surface model

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Koven, C., Friedlingstein, P., Ciais, Philippe, Khvorostyanov, D., Krinner, G., Tarnocai, C.
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), School of Earth Sciences Bristol, University of Bristol Bristol, ICOS-ATC (ICOS-ATC), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Agriculture and Agri-Food (AAFC), supported by CEA, ANR-06-VULN-0011,IMPACT-BOREAL,IMPACT of climate on hydrology and methane production in anaerobic soils in BOREAL regions(2006)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: global carbon cycle; climate change; permafrost; [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Siberia
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-00448197; https://insu.hal.science/insu-00448197/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-00448197/file/2009GL040150.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL040150

International audience We modify the soil component of the ORCHIDEE terrestrial carbon cycle model to include vertically-discretized soil carbon. With this model, we investigate the feedback of considering thermal insulation by soil carbon, which modifies the soil thermal regime by lowering the thermal conductivity and increasing the heat capacity of a carbon-rich soil, on the total carbon stocks the model builds up. In addition, we demonstrate the effects of diffusive vertical mixing of soil organic matter by cryoturbation on the total carbon stocks that the model builds up in mineral soils in equilibrium with a steady climate. We show that including these two effects together leads to up to 30% higher soil carbon stocks in the top meter of permafrost soils, as well as large stocks of carbon below 1m in the upper permafrost soil layers. The vertical profile of partitioning of carbon between different lability pools is also affected, as the slower pools are more deeply mixed; also the time to reach equilibrium lengthens considerably. These effects are largest in the coldest regions such as Eastern Siberia. The inclusion of cryoturbative mixing and insulation by soil carbon leads to better agreement with estimates of high-latitude soil carbon stocks, where substantial amounts of carbon are found in permafrost regions, to depths of three meters; however we do not include peat, Yedoma, or alluvial deposition processes here, so the total carbon stocks are still lower than observed.