Sierra, Carlos
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Abstract
Understanding the controls on the amount and persistence of soil organic carbon (C) is essential for predicting its sensitivity to global change. The response may depend on whether C is unprotected, isolated within aggregates, or protected from decomposition by mineral associations. Here, we present a global synthesis of the relative influence of environmental factors on soil organic C partitioning among pools, abundance in each pool (mg C g(-1) soil), and persistence (as approximated by radiocarbon abundance) in relatively unprotected particulate and protected mineral-bound pools. We show that C within particulate and mineral-associated pools consistently differed from one another in degree of persistence and relationship to environmental factors. Soil depth was the best predictor of C abundance and persistence, though it accounted for more variance in persistence. Persistence of all C pools decreased with increasing mean annual temperature (MAT) throughout the soil profile, whereas persistence increased with increasing wetness index (MAP/PET) in subsurface soils (30-176 cm). The relationship of C abundance (mg C g(-1) soil) to climate varied among pools and with depth. Mineral-associated C in surface soils (
Keywords
climate change; persistence; radiocarbon; soil carbon; soil fractions; soil organic matter; terrestrial carbon cycle
Published in
Global Change Biology
2022, volume: 28, number: 3, pages: 1178-1196
Publisher: WILEY
SLU Authors
Global goals (SDG)
SDG13 Climate action
SDG15 Life on land
UKÄ Subject classification
Soil Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16023
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/115055