Journal ArticleDOI
Soil-carbon response to warming dependent on microbial physiology
Reads0
Chats0
TLDR
In this article, the authors explore the mechanisms using a microbial-enzyme model to simulate the responses of soil carbon to warming by 5'∘C. They find that declines in microbial biomass and degradative enzymes can explain the observed attenuation of soil-carbon emissions in response to warming.Abstract:
The loss of carbon dioxide from soils increases initially under climate warming, but tends to decline to control levels within a few years. Simulations of the soil-carbon response to warming with a microbial-enzyme model show that a decline in both microbial biomass and the production of degrading enzymes can explain this attenuation response. Most ecosystem models predict that climate warming will stimulate microbial decomposition of soil carbon, producing a positive feedback to rising global temperatures1,2. Although field experiments document an initial increase in the loss of CO2 from soils in response to warming, in line with these predictions, the carbon dioxide loss from soils tends to decline to control levels within a few years3,4,5. This attenuation response could result from changes in microbial physiological properties with increasing temperature, such as a decline in the fraction of assimilated carbon that is allocated to growth, termed carbon-use efficiency6. Here we explore these mechanisms using a microbial-enzyme model to simulate the responses of soil carbon to warming by 5 ∘C. We find that declines in microbial biomass and degradative enzymes can explain the observed attenuation of soil-carbon emissions in response to warming. Specifically, reduced carbon-use efficiency limits the biomass of microbial decomposers and mitigates the loss of soil carbon. However, microbial adaptation or a change in microbial communities could lead to an upward adjustment of the efficiency of carbon use, counteracting the decline in microbial biomass and accelerating soil-carbon loss. We conclude that the soil-carbon response to climate warming depends on the efficiency of soil microbes in using carbon.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
The Microbial Efficiency-Matrix Stabilization (MEMS) framework integrates plant litter decomposition with soil organic matter stabilization: do labile plant inputs form stable soil organic matter?
TL;DR: It is proposed that labile plant constituents are the dominant source of microbial products, relative to input rates, because they are utilized more efficiently by microbes, and become the main precursors of stable SOM by promoting aggregation and through strong chemical bonding to the mineral soil matrix.
Journal ArticleDOI
Temperature and soil organic matter decomposition rates – synthesis of current knowledge and a way forward
Richard T. Conant,Richard T. Conant,Michael G. Ryan,Göran I. Ågren,Hannah E. Birge,Eric A. Davidson,Peter E. Eliasson,Sarah E. Evans,Serita D. Frey,Christian P. Giardina,Francesca M. Hopkins,Riitta Hyvönen,Miko U. F. Kirschbaum,Jocelyn M. Lavallee,Jens Leifeld,William J. Parton,J. M. Steinweg,Matthew D. Wallenstein,J. Å. Martin Wetterstedt,Mark A. Bradford +19 more
TL;DR: In this paper, a new conceptual model that explicitly identifies the processes controlling soil organic matter availability for decomposition and allows a more explicit description of the factors regulating OM decomposition under different circumstances is presented.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microbial control over carbon cycling in soil.
TL;DR: The phylogenetic level at which microbes form meaningful guilds is considered, based on overall life history strategies, and it is suggested that these are associated with deep evolutionary divergences, while much of the species-level diversity probably reflects functional redundancy.
Journal ArticleDOI
Environmental and stoichiometric controls on microbial carbon‐use efficiency in soils
TL;DR: Theoretical considerations and empirical evidence indicate that CUE decreases as temperature increases and nutrient availability decreases, and current biogeochemical models could be improved by accounting for these CUE responses along environmental and stoichiometric gradients.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microorganisms and climate change: terrestrial feedbacks and mitigation options
TL;DR: To improve the prediction of climate models, it is important to understand the mechanisms by which microorganisms regulate terrestrial greenhouse gas flux, which involves consideration of the complex interactions that occur between microorganisms and other biotic and abiotic factors.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition and feedbacks to climate change
TL;DR: This work has suggested that several environmental constraints obscure the intrinsic temperature sensitivity of substrate decomposition, causing lower observed ‘apparent’ temperature sensitivity, and these constraints may, themselves, be sensitive to climate.
Journal ArticleDOI
On the temperature dependence of soil respiration
Jon Lloyd,John Taylor +1 more
TL;DR: An empirical equation is presented which yields an unbiased estimator of respiration rates over a wide range of temperatures and provides representative estimates of the seasonal cycle of net ecosystem productivity and its effects on atmospheric CO 2.
Journal ArticleDOI
Climate–Carbon Cycle Feedback Analysis: Results from the C4MIP Model Intercomparison
Pierre Friedlingstein,Peter M. Cox,Richard Betts,Laurent Bopp,W. von Bloh,Victor Brovkin,Patricia Cadule,Scott C. Doney,Michael Eby,Inez Fung,Govindasamy Bala,Jasmin John,Chris D. Jones,Fortunat Joos,Tomomichi Kato,Michio Kawamiya,Wolfgang Knorr,Keith Lindsay,H. D. Matthews,H. D. Matthews,Thomas Raddatz,Peter Rayner,Christian Reick,Erich Roeckner,K.-G. Schnitzler,Reiner Schnur,K. M. Strassmann,Andrew J. Weaver,Chisato Yoshikawa,Ning Zeng +29 more
TL;DR: In this article, eleven coupled climate-carbon cycle models were used to study the coupling between climate change and the carbon cycle. But, there was still a large uncertainty on the magnitude of these sensitivities.
Book
Biochemical Adaptation: Mechanism and Process in Physiological Evolution
TL;DR: This volume discusses water-Solute Adaptations: The Evolution and Regulation of the Internal Milieu, and the influence of Oxygen Availability on the Diving Response and Its Evolution.
Journal ArticleDOI
Bacterial and Fungal Contributions to Carbon Sequestration in Agroecosystems
TL;DR: In this paper, the current knowledge of microbial processes affecting C sequestration in agroecosystems is reviewed, and gaps within our knowledge on MOM-C dynamics and how they are related to soil properties and agricultural practices are identified.
Related Papers (5)
Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition and feedbacks to climate change
The implications of exoenzyme activity on microbial carbon and nitrogen limitation in soil: a theoretical model
Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property
Temperature and soil organic matter decomposition rates – synthesis of current knowledge and a way forward
Richard T. Conant,Richard T. Conant,Michael G. Ryan,Göran I. Ågren,Hannah E. Birge,Eric A. Davidson,Peter E. Eliasson,Sarah E. Evans,Serita D. Frey,Christian P. Giardina,Francesca M. Hopkins,Riitta Hyvönen,Miko U. F. Kirschbaum,Jocelyn M. Lavallee,Jens Leifeld,William J. Parton,J. M. Steinweg,Matthew D. Wallenstein,J. Å. Martin Wetterstedt,Mark A. Bradford +19 more