Nature Communications · 2024
Whole-soil warming leads to substantial soil carbon emission in an alpine grassland
Chen, Y., Qin, W., Zhang, Q., Wang, X., Feng, J., Han, M., Hou, Y., Zhao, H., Zhang, Z., He, J. S., Torn, M. S., Zhu, B.
Export
Whole-soil warming leads to substantial soil carbon emission…
Abstract
The sensitivity of soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition in seasonally frozen soils, such as alpine ecosystems, to climate warming is a major uncertainty in global carbon cycling. Here we measure soil CO 2 emission during four years (2018–2021) from the whole-soil warming experiment (4 °C for the top 1 m) in an alpine grassland ecosystem. We find that whole-soil warming stimulates total and SOC-derived CO 2 efflux by 26% and 37%, respectively, but has a minor effect on root-derived CO 2 efflux. Moreover, experimental warming only promotes total soil CO 2 efflux by 7-8% on average in the meta-analysis across all grasslands or alpine grasslands globally (none of these experiments were whole-soil warming). We show that whole-soil warming has a much stronger effect on soil carbon emission in the alpine grassland ecosystem than what was reported in previous warming experiments, most of which only heat surface soils.
Show all
The sensitivity of soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition in seasonally frozen soils, such as alpine ecosystems, to climate warming is a major uncertainty in global carbon cycling. Here we measure soil CO 2 emission during four years (2018–2021) from the whole-soil warming experiment (4 °C for the top 1 m) in an alpine grassland ecosystem. We find that whole-soil warming stimulates total and SOC-derived CO 2 efflux by 26% and 37%, respectively, but has a minor effect on root-derived CO 2 efflux. Moreover, experimental warming only promotes total soil CO 2 efflux by 7-8% on average in the meta-analysis across all grasslands or alpine grasslands globally (none of these experiments were whole-soil warming). We show that whole-soil warming has a much stronger effect on soil carbon emission in the alpine grassland ecosystem than what was reported in previous warming experiments, most of which only heat surface soils.
The sensitivity of soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition in seasonally frozen soils, such as alpine ecosystems, to climate warming is a major uncertainty in global carbon cycling. Here we measure soil CO 2 emission during four years (2018–2021) from the whole-soil warming experiment (4 °C for the top 1 m) in an alpine grassland ecosystem. We find that whole-soil warming stimulates total and SOC-derived CO 2 efflux by 26% and 37%, respectively, but has a minor effect on root-derived CO 2 efflux. Moreover, experimental warming only promotes total soil CO 2 efflux by 7-8% on average in the meta-analysis across all grasslands or alpine grasslands globally (none of these experiments were whole-soil warming). We show that whole-soil warming has a much stronger effect on soil carbon emission in the alpine grassland ecosystem than what was reported in previous warming experiments, most of which only heat surface soils.
Findings
What changed what, as the paper reports it. Grouped by the measured property. The largest groups are open; open the others as you need them.
Similar papers
Conservation tillage increases carbon sequestration of winter wheat-summer maize farmland on Loess Plateau in China
Lu, Lu & Liao · 2018 · PLOS ONE
5 shared concepts
5 findings1 site
Precipitation increase counteracts warming effects on plant and soil C:N:P stoichiometry in an alpine meadow
Shi et al. · 2022 · Frontiers in Plant Science
5 shared concepts
15 findings1 site
Long-term warming of a forest soil reduces microbial biomass and its carbon and nitrogen use efficiencies
Tian et al. · 2023 · Soil Biology and Biochemistry
5 shared concepts