A globally relevant stock of soil nitrogen in the Yedoma permafrost domain

Strauß, Jens; Biasi, Christina; Sanders, Tina; Abbott, Benjamin W.; Deimling, Thomas Schneider von; Voigt, Carolina; Winkel, Matthias; Marushchak, Maija E.; Kou, Dan; Fuchs, Matthias; Horn, Marcus A.; Jongejans, Loeka L.; Liebner, Susanne; Nitzbon, Jan; Schirrmeister, Lutz; Anthony, K. M. Walter; Yang, Yuanhe; Zubrzycki, Sebastian; Laboor, Sebastian; Treat, Claire C.; Grosse, Guido

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-33794-9

Cited by 23 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…Nitrogen (N) concentrations in Arctic streams come from two main sources: N deposition from the atmosphere and biological fixation of N 2 (Kaste et al., 2004). Additionally, permafrost thawing can result in a newly relevant bioavailable N source (Keuper et al., 2012; Strauss et al., 2022). Along the watersheds, N can be captured by soil and plant communities or transported away along hillslopes (Pedersen et al., 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stream Nitrogen Concentrations Across Arctic Vegetation Gradients

Holmboe,

Pastor,

Riis

2024

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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The Arctic is experiencing dramatic climate‐induced changes, which could have substantial consequences for nutrient export from land to streams and, thus, in‐stream nutrient availability and composition. Arctic freshwater ecosystems are low‐productive systems often limited by nitrogen (N) availability. Studying small streams is important due to their high abundance across the landscape, intimate connection to their catchments, high biogeochemical activity and high sensitivity to climate change. However, little information is available, especially in terms of N availability and composition (i.e., nitrate, ammonium, and dissolved organic nitrogen [DON]). We aimed to quantify N concentrations across small Arctic streams and explore the link between terrestrial vegetation and stream water N concentration. We conducted a literature study and extracted data from published articles, online databases, and unpublished field data. Out of 215 preselected articles, 20 met our criteria and contained 2,381 observations on stream water N concentrations in the Arctic. Data on DON was scarce: only 161 of the 2,381 observations contained DON data. We found that nitrate (NO3−), ammonium (NH4+) and DON ranged undetectable to 1,155, 547 and 1,587 μg N L−1, respectively. We found that sparsely vegetated areas had higher stream water N‐concentrations, while barren areas and higher vegetated areas had lower stream water N‐concentrations. This study provides fundamental knowledge on N availability in small streams across the Arctic, highlights data gaps and contributes to the basic knowledge needed for understanding and predicting future changes in N dynamics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stream Nitrogen Concentrations Across Arctic Vegetation Gradients

Holmboe,

Pastor,

Riis

2024

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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“…Other deposits, such as thermokarst lake and drained lake sediments or Holocene cover layers started developing due to permafrost degradation and aggradation during the Late Glacial and the Holocene warm periods (Schirrmeister et al 2020). Because of the region's relatively high OM content and substantial sedimentary volume, the Yedoma domain contains 327-466 Gt organic carbon (OC) and 37-45 Gt total nitrogen (N) (Strauss et al 2017(Strauss et al , 2022, which amounts for 26% and 42% of the C and N stocks located in permafrost worldwide, respectively. The thawing of the Yedoma domain can mobilise the carbon reservoirs and release significant amounts of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) (Jongejans et al 2021, Schuur et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, motivated by the discovery of a significant N stock in the Yedoma domain (Strauss et al 2022), we discuss three main questions related to the fate of soil N, increasingly liberated from the frozen ground in the thawing Yedoma domain: (1) how does the thawed N become accessible for plants and microbes? (2) What are the most likely N-loss pathways through which the liberated N becomes inaccessible to these organisms?, and (3) which are the potential climate feedback loops associated with these different pathways of N uptake and release?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential nitrogen mobilisation from the Yedoma permafrost domain

Strauss,

Marushchak,

van Delden

et al. 2024

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Permafrost regions, characterised by extensive belowground excess ice, are highly vulnerable to rapid thaw, particularly in areas such as the Yedoma domain. This region is known to freeze-lock a globally significant stock of soil nitrogen (N). However, the fate of this N upon permafrost thaw remains largely unknown. In this study, we assess the impact of climate warming on the size and dynamics of the soil N pool in (sub-)Arctic ecosystems, drawing up-on recently published data and literature. Our findings suggest that climate warming and in-creased thaw depths will result in an expansion of the reactive soil N pool due to the larger volume of (seasonally) thawed soil. Dissolved organic N emerges as the predominant N form for rapid cycling within (sub-)Arctic ecosystems. The fate of newly thawed N from perma-frost is primarily influenced by plant uptake, microbial immobilisation, changes in decompo-sition rates due to improved N availability, as well as lateral flow.The Yedoma domain contains substantial N pools, and the partial but increasing thaw of this previously frozen N has the potential to amplify climate feedbacks through additional ni-trous oxide (N2O) emissions. Our ballpark estimate indicates that the Yedoma domain may contribute approximately 6% of the global annual rate of N2O emissions from soils under natural vegetation. However, the released soil N could also mitigate climate feedbacks by promoting enhanced vegetation carbon uptake. The likelihood and rate of N2O production are highest in permafrost thaw sites with intermediate moisture content and disturbed vegeta-tion, but accurately predicting future landscape and hydrology changes in the Yedoma do-main remains challenging. Nevertheless, it is evident that the permafrost-climate feedback will be significantly influenced by the quantity and mobilisation state of this unconsidered N pool.

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“…Soil N dynamics in permafrost ecosystems have drawn increasing attention from the global change research community in recent years (Mao et al, 2019, 2020; Marushchak et al, 2021; Strauss et al, 2022; Voigt et al, 2017; Wild et al, 2015). Previous studies have examined aerobic soil N transformations (e.g., N mineralization, microbial immobilization) in the active layer and permafrost deposits (Keuper et al, 2012; Mao et al, 2020; Ramm, Liu, Mueller, et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns and drivers of anaerobic nitrogen transformations in sediments of thermokarst lakes

Mao

Song

Peng

et al. 2023

Global Change Biology

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Significant attention has been given to the way in which the soil nitrogen (N) cycle responds to permafrost thaw in recent years, yet little is known about anaerobic N transformations in thermokarst lakes, which account for more than one‐third of thermokarst landforms across permafrost regions. Based on the N isotope dilution and tracing technique, combined with qPCR and high‐throughput sequencing, we presented large‐scale measurements of anaerobic N transformations of sediments across 30 thermokarst lakes over the Tibetan alpine permafrost region. Our results showed that gross N mineralization, ammonium immobilization, and dissimilatory nitrate reduction rates in thermokarst lakes were higher in the eastern part of our study area than in the west. Denitrification dominated in the dissimilatory nitrate reduction processes, being two and one orders of magnitude higher than anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), respectively. The abundances of the dissimilatory nitrate reduction genes (nirK, nirS, hzsB, and nrfA) exhibited patterns consistent with sediment N transformation rates, while α diversity did not. The inter‐lake variability in gross N mineralization and ammonium immobilization was dominantly driven by microbial biomass, while the variability in anammox and DNRA was driven by substrate supply and organic carbon content, respectively. Denitrification was jointly affected by nirS abundance and organic carbon content. Overall, the patterns and drivers of anaerobic N transformation rates detected in this study provide a new perspective on potential N release, retention, and removal upon the formation and development of thermokarst lakes.

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A globally relevant stock of soil nitrogen in the Yedoma permafrost domain

Cited by 23 publications

References 81 publications

Stream Nitrogen Concentrations Across Arctic Vegetation Gradients

Stream Nitrogen Concentrations Across Arctic Vegetation Gradients

Potential nitrogen mobilisation from the Yedoma permafrost domain

Patterns and drivers of anaerobic nitrogen transformations in sediments of thermokarst lakes

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