James O. Sickman

Bio: James O. Sickman is an academic researcher from University of California, Riverside. The author has contributed to research in topics: Snowmelt & Soil water. The author has an hindex of 32, co-authored 72 publications receiving 4847 citations. Previous affiliations of James O. Sickman include University of Florida & California Department of Water Resources.

The effect of permafrost thaw on old carbon release and net carbon exchange from tundra

Abstract: The enormous amounts of carbon stored deep in permafrost soils — permafrost ecosystems contain almost twice as much carbon as is present in the atmosphere — have the potential to create a positive feedback to climate change if released into a warming world. The bulk of the permafrost carbon pool consists of 'old' carbon, accumulated over thousands of years, but the rate of carbon release from these soils is highly uncertain. Schuur et al. report data on net ecosystem carbon exchange and the radiocarbon age of ecosystem respiration from a long-term monitoring site in Alaska where permafrost temperatures have been directly measured since 1985, and observed to warm since then. They find significant losses of soil carbon with permafrost thaw that, over decadal timescales, overwhelms increased plant carbon uptake at rates that could make permafrost a large biospheric carbon source in a warmer world. Permafrost thaw and microbial decomposition is considered one of the most likely positive climate feedbacks from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere in a warmer world, but the rate of carbon release from permafrost soil remains highly uncertain. Here, net ecosystem carbon exchange is measured in a tundra landscape undergoing permafrost thaw to determine the influence of old carbon loss on ecosystem carbon balance. The results reveal significant losses of soil carbon over decadal time scales, overwhelming the increased carbon uptake from plants. Permafrost soils in boreal and Arctic ecosystems store almost twice as much carbon1,2 as is currently present in the atmosphere3. Permafrost thaw and the microbial decomposition of previously frozen organic carbon is considered one of the most likely positive climate feedbacks from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere in a warmer world1,2,4,5,6,7. The rate of carbon release from permafrost soils is highly uncertain, but it is crucial for predicting the strength and timing of this carbon-cycle feedback effect, and thus how important permafrost thaw will be for climate change this century and beyond1,2,4,5,6,7. Sustained transfers of carbon to the atmosphere that could cause a significant positive feedback to climate change must come from old carbon, which forms the bulk of the permafrost carbon pool that accumulated over thousands of years8,9,10,11. Here we measure net ecosystem carbon exchange and the radiocarbon age of ecosystem respiration in a tundra landscape undergoing permafrost thaw12 to determine the influence of old carbon loss on ecosystem carbon balance. We find that areas that thawed over the past 15 years had 40 per cent more annual losses of old carbon than minimally thawed areas, but had overall net ecosystem carbon uptake as increased plant growth offset these losses. In contrast, areas that thawed decades earlier lost even more old carbon, a 78 per cent increase over minimally thawed areas; this old carbon loss contributed to overall net ecosystem carbon release despite increased plant growth. Our data document significant losses of soil carbon with permafrost thaw that, over decadal timescales, overwhelms increased plant carbon uptake13,14,15 at rates that could make permafrost a large biospheric carbon source in a warmer world.

Ecological Effects of Nitrogen Deposition in the Western United States

Abstract: In the western United States vast acreages of land are exposed to low levels of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, with interspersed hotspots of elevated N deposition downwind of large, expanding metropolitan centers or large agricultural operations. Biological response studies in western North America demonstrate that some aquatic and terrestrial plant and microbial communities are significantly altered by N deposition. Greater plant productivity is counterbalanced by biotic community changes and deleterious effects on sensitive organisms (lichens and phytoplankton) that respond to low inputs of N (3 to 8 kilograms N per hectare per year). Streamwater nitrate concentrations are elevated in high-elevation catchments in Colorado and are unusually high in southern California and in some chaparral catchments in the southwestern Sierra Nevada. Chronic N deposition in the West is implicated in increased fire frequency in some areas and habitat alteration for threatened species. Between hotspots, N deposition is too low to cause noticeable effects or has not been studied.

Nitrogen Emissions, Deposition, and Monitoring in the Western United States

Abstract: Nitrogen (N) deposition in the western United States ranges from 1 to 4 kilograms (kg) per hectare (ha) per year over much of the region to as high as 30 to 90 kg per ha per year downwind of major urban and agricultural areas. Primary N emissions sources are transportation, agriculture, and industry. Emissions of N as ammonia are about 50% as great as emissions of N as nitrogen oxides. An unknown amount of N deposition to the West Coast originates from Asia. Nitrogen deposition has increased in the West because of rapid increases in urbanization, population, distance driven, and large concentrated animal feeding operations. Studies of ecological effects suggest that emissions reductions are needed to protect sensitive ecosystem components. Deposition rates are unknown for most areas in the West, although reasonable estimates are available for sites in California, the Colorado Front Range, and central Arizona. National monitoring networks provide long-term wet deposition data and, more recently, e...

Episodic rewetting enhances carbon and nitrogen release from chaparral soils

Abstract: The short-term pulse of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) mineralization that accompanies the wetting of dry soils may dominate annual C and N production in many arid and semi-arid environments characterized by seasonal transitions. We used a laboratory incubation to evaluate the impact of short-term fluctuations in soil moisture on long-term carbon and nitrogen dynamics, and the degree to which rewetting enhances C and N release. Following repeated drying and rewetting of chaparral soils, cumulative CO2 release in rewet soils was 2.2–3.7 times greater than from soils maintained at equivalent mean soil moisture and represented 12–18% of the total soil C pool. Rewetting frequency did not affect cumulative CO2 release but did enhance N turnover, and net N mineralization and nitrification increased with rewetting in spite of significant reductions in nitrification potential. Litter addition decreased inorganic N release but enhanced dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from dry soils, indicating the potential importance of a litter-derived pulse to short-term nutrient dynamics.

Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property

Abstract: Globally, soil organic matter (SOM) contains more than three times as much carbon as either the atmosphere or terrestrial vegetation. Yet it remains largely unknown why some SOM persists for millennia whereas other SOM decomposes readily—and this limits our ability to predict how soils will respond to climate change. Recent analytical and experimental advances have demonstrated that molecular structure alone does not control SOM stability: in fact, environmental and biological controls predominate. Here we propose ways to include this understanding in a new generation of experiments and soil carbon models, thereby improving predictions of the SOM response to global warming.

The Nitrogen Cascade

Abstract: Human production of food and energy is the dominant continental process that breaks the triple bond in molecular nitrogen (N2) and creates reactive nitrogen (Nr) species. Circulation of anthropogenic Nr in Earth’s atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere has a wide variety of consequences, which are magnified with time as Nr moves along its biogeochemical pathway. The same atom of Nr can cause multiple effects in the atmosphere, in terrestrial ecosystems, in freshwater and marine systems, and on human health. We call this sequence of effects the nitrogen cascade. As the cascade progresses, the origin of Nr becomes unimportant. Reactive nitrogen does not cascade at the same rate through all environmental systems; some systems have the ability to accumulate Nr, which leads to lag times in the continuation of the cascade. These lags slow the cascade and result in Nr accumulation in certain reservoirs, which in turn can enhance the effects of Nr on that environment. The only way to eliminate Nr accumul...

Chapter 12 - Long-term climate change: Projections, commitments and irreversibility

Abstract: This chapter assesses long-term projections of climate change for the end of the 21st century and beyond, where the forced signal depends on the scenario and is typically larger than the internal variability of the climate system. Changes are expressed with respect to a baseline period of 1986-2005, unless otherwise stated.

Global assessment of nitrogen deposition effects on terrestrial plant diversity: a synthesis.

Abstract: Atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is a recognized threat to plant diversity in temperate and northern parts of Europe and North America. This paper assesses evidence from field experiments for N deposition effects and thresholds for terrestrial plant diversity protection across a latitudinal range of main categories of ecosystems, from arctic and boreal systems to tropical forests. Current thinking on the mechanisms of N deposition effects on plant diversity, the global distribution of G200 ecoregions, and current and future (2030) estimates of atmospheric N-deposition rates are then used to identify the risks to plant diversity in all major ecosystem types now and in the future. This synthesis paper clearly shows that N accumulation is the main driver of changes to species composition across the whole range of different ecosystem types by driving the competitive interactions that lead to composition change and/or making conditions unfavorable for some species. Other effects such as direct toxicity of nitrogen gases and aerosols, long-term negative effects of increased ammonium and ammonia availability, soil-mediated effects of acidification, and secondary stress and disturbance are more ecosystem- and site-specific and often play a supporting role. N deposition effects in mediterranean ecosystems have now been identified, leading to a first estimate of an effect threshold. Importantly, ecosystems thought of as not N limited, such as tropical and subtropical systems, may be more vulnerable in the regeneration phase, in situations where heterogeneity in N availability is reduced by atmospheric N deposition, on sandy soils, or in montane areas. Critical loads are effect thresholds for N deposition, and the critical load concept has helped European governments make progress toward reducing N loads on sensitive ecosystems. More needs to be done in Europe and North America, especially for the more sensitive ecosystem types, including several ecosystems of high conservation importance. The results of this assessment show that the vulnerable regions outside Europe and North America which have not received enough attention are ecoregions in eastern and southern Asia (China, India), an important part of the mediterranean ecoregion (California, southern Europe), and in the coming decades several subtropical and tropical parts of Latin America and Africa. Reductions in plant diversity by increased atmospheric N deposition may be more widespread than first thought, and more targeted studies are required in low background areas, especially in the G200 ecoregions.

Microbial stress‐response physiology and its implications for ecosystem function

Abstract: Microorganisms have a variety of evolutionary adaptations and physiological acclimation mechanisms that allow them to survive and remain active in the face of environmental stress. Physiological responses to stress have costs at the organismal level that can result in altered ecosystem-level C, energy, and nutrient flows. These large-scale impacts result from direct effects on active microbes' physiology and by controlling the composition of the active microbial community. We first consider some general aspects of how microbes experience environmental stresses and how they respond to them. We then discuss the impacts of two important ecosystem-level stressors, drought and freezing, on microbial physiology and community composition. Even when microbial community response to stress is limited, the physiological costs imposed on soil microbes are large enough that they may cause large shifts in the allocation and fate of C and N. For example, for microbes to synthesize the osmolytes they need to survive a single drought episode they may consume up to 5% of total annual net primary production in grassland ecosystems, while acclimating to freezing conditions switches Arctic tundra soils from immobilizing N during the growing season to mineralizing it during the winter. We suggest that more effectively integrating microbial ecology into ecosystem ecology will require a more complete integration of microbial physiological ecology, population biology, and process ecology.