Soil carbon storage controlled by interactions between geochemistry and climate

Abstract

Artículo de publicación ISISoils are an important site of carbon storage(1). Climate is generally regarded as one of the primary controls over soil organic carbon(1,2), but there is still uncertainty about the direction and magnitude of carbon responses to climate change. Here we show that geochemistry, too, is an important controlling factor for soil carbon storage. We measured a range of soil and climate variables at 24 sites along a 4,000-km-long north-south transect of natural grassland and shrubland in Chile and the Antarctic Peninsula, which spans a broad range of climatic and geochemical conditions. We find that soils with high carbon content are characterized by substantial adsorption of carbon compounds onto mineral soil and low rates of respiration per unit of soil carbon; and vice versa for soils with low carbon content. Precipitation and temperature were only secondary predictors for carbon storage, respiration, residence time and stabilization mechanisms. Correlations between climatic variables and carbon variables decreased significantly after removing relationships with geochemical predictors. We conclude that the interactions of climatic and geochemical factors control soil organic carbon storage and turnover, and must be considered for robust prediction of current and future soil carbon storage.BELSPO IUAP project 'SOGLO- Soils under Global change' (Belgium); FONDECYT

Disturbance Legacy on Soil Carbon Stocks and Stability within a Coastal Temperate Forest of Southwestern British Columbia, Canada

“…) Carr] and western hemlock of western Washington and Oregon. Doetterl, et al (2015) suggested that the interaction between climate and geochemical (pedogenic) factors controlled SOC storage and turnover. In our study, SOC was found to be associated with the silt and clay fraction, similar to the findings of Kalbitz and Kaiser (2007).…”

“…The particular combination of climatic, ecological and pedological factors of these forests is of major advantage in the context of climate change (Black et al, 2008). Although it has been recognized that soils play a critical role in carbon storage (Doetterl et al, 2015) and that coastal temperate forests have considerable potential to sequester SOC (Carpenter et al, 2014), studies related to SOC stocks and stability are scarce in these ecosystems.…”

“…Doetterl et al (2015) posited that the interaction between climate and geochemical factors controls SOC storage and residence time. Schmidt et al (2011) suggested that the persistence of SOC in the soil (i.e.…”

Soil organic carbon contents, aggregate stability, and humic acid composition in different alpine grasslands in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

“…Considering the importance of soil mineral phase in SOC stabilization (Doetterl et al 2015), further studies should be carried out to examine the relationship between SOC and mineral phase in our future works.…”

Effect of Mineral Nitrogen on Transfer of 13C-Carbon from Eucalyptus Harvest Residue Components to Soil Organic Matter Fractions

“…Indeed, the formation of organo-mineral complexes is evolving as a more important mechanism of soil C stabilization (Mikutta et al, 2006;Marschner et al, 2008;Doetterl et al, 2015). The incorporation of residue-derived C (Table 2) and N (Table 3) in the humin fraction in a relatively short period (240 days) may be evidence of rapid modifications in this previously considered refractory fraction.…”