Permafrost soils store nearly half of global soil carbon (C), and therefore permafrost thawing could lead to large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions via decomposition of soil organic matter. When ice-rich permafrost thaws, it creates a localized surface subsidence called thermokarst terrain, which changes the soil microenvironment. We used soil […]
The boreal region stores a large proportion of the world’s terrestrial carbon (C) and is subject to high-intensity, stand-replacing wildfires that release C and nitrogen (N) stored in biomass and soils through combustion. While severity and extent of fires drives overall emissions, methods for accurately estimating fire severity are poorly […]
The direction and magnitude of soil organic carbon (SOC) changes in response to climate change remain unclear and depend on the spatial distribution of SOC across landscapes. Uncertainties regarding the fate of SOC are greater in high-latitude systems where data are sparse and the soils are affected by sub-zero temperatures. […]
Monsoon precipitation in the arid southwestern United States is an important driver of ecosystem productivity, delivering up to 50% of annual precipitation during the summer months. These sporadic rainfall events typify drying-rewetting cycles and impose a physiological stress on the soil microbial communities responsible for carbon and nutrient cycling. As […]
Approximately 1700 Pg of soil carbon (C) are stored in the northern circumpolar permafrost zone, more than twice as much C than in the atmosphere. The overall amount, rate, and form of C released to the atmosphere in a warmer world will influence the strength of the permafrost C feedback to […]
The effects of grassland conversion to forest vegetation and of individual tree species on microbial activity in Siberia are largely unstudied. Here, we examined the effects of the six most commonly dominant tree species in Siberian forests (Scots pine, spruce, Arolla pine, larch, aspen and birch) on soil C and […]
The link between lineage and behavior has inspired research across the spectrum of life. For plants and animals, genetically close cousins tend to act in similar ways. Finches, for example, eat seeds, while swallows eat insects. For bacteria, however, the question is up for debate. Does evolutionary history predict how […]
1. Ecological restoration often involves returning ecosystem structure to some predisturbance reference state, but ecosystem function must also recover if restoration efforts are to be self-sustaining over the long term. In the south-western United States, ponderosa pine forest structure was altered by disruption of the fire regime following Euro-American settlement. […]
Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of the southwestern United States are a mosaic of stands where undisturbed forests are carbon sinks, and stands recovering from wildfires may be sources of carbon to the atmosphere for decades after the fire. However, the relative magnitude of these sinks and sources has never […]
Disturbances alter ecosystem carbon dynamics, often by reducing carbon uptake and stocks. We compared the impact of two types of disturbances that represent the most likely future conditions of currently dense ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern United States: (1) high-intensity fire and (2) thinning, designed to reduce fire intensity. […]