Deforestation for agriculture increases microbial carbon use efficiency in subarctic soils

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Autorschaft

  • Julia Schroeder
  • Tino Peplau
  • Frank Pennekamp
  • Edward Gregorich
  • Christoph C. Tebbe
  • Christopher Poeplau

Externe Organisationen

  • Thünen-Institut für Agrarklimaschutz (AK)
Forschungs-netzwerk anzeigen

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Seiten (von - bis)17–34
Seitenumfang18
FachzeitschriftBiology and fertility of soils
Jahrgang60
Ausgabenummer1
Frühes Online-Datum5 Okt. 2022
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - Jan. 2024
Extern publiziertJa

Abstract

Agriculture is likely to expand poleward with climate change, encouraging deforestation for agriculture in subarctic regions, which alters soil physical, chemical and biological properties and potentially affects microbial metabolic efficiency. Deciphering how and by which mechanisms land-use change affects microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) will enable the development of mitigation strategies to alleviate C losses. We assessed CUE using 18O-labelled water in a paired-plot approach on soils collected from 19 farms across the subarctic region of Yukon, Canada, comprising 14 pairs of forest-to-grassland conversion and 15 pairs of forest-to-cropland conversion. Microbial CUE significantly increased following conversion to grassland and cropland. Land-use conversion resulted in a lower estimated abundance of fungi, while the archaeal abundance increased. Interestingly, structural equation modelling revealed that increases in CUE were mediated by a rise in soil pH and a decrease in soil C:N ratio rather than by shifts in microbial community composition, i.e. the ratio of fungi, bacteria and archaea. Our findings indicate a direct control of abiotic factors on microbial CUE via improved nutrient availability and facilitated conditions for microbial growth. Overall, this implies that to a certain extent CUE can be managed to achieve a more efficient build-up of stabilised soil organic C (SOC), as reflected in increased mineral-associated organic C under agricultural land use. These insights may also help constrain SOC models that generally struggle to predict the effects of deforestation, something that is likely to take place more frequently in the subarctic.

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

Zitieren

Deforestation for agriculture increases microbial carbon use efficiency in subarctic soils. / Schroeder, Julia; Peplau, Tino; Pennekamp, Frank et al.
in: Biology and fertility of soils, Jahrgang 60, Nr. 1, 01.2024, S. 17–34.

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschungPeer-Review

Schroeder J, Peplau T, Pennekamp F, Gregorich E, Tebbe CC, Poeplau C. Deforestation for agriculture increases microbial carbon use efficiency in subarctic soils. Biology and fertility of soils. 2024 Jan;60(1):17–34. Epub 2022 Okt 5. doi: 10.1007/s00374-022-01669-2
Schroeder, Julia ; Peplau, Tino ; Pennekamp, Frank et al. / Deforestation for agriculture increases microbial carbon use efficiency in subarctic soils. in: Biology and fertility of soils. 2024 ; Jahrgang 60, Nr. 1. S. 17–34.
Download
@article{f4717da0a97a43fea93b4230b5f40832,
title = "Deforestation for agriculture increases microbial carbon use efficiency in subarctic soils",
abstract = "Agriculture is likely to expand poleward with climate change, encouraging deforestation for agriculture in subarctic regions, which alters soil physical, chemical and biological properties and potentially affects microbial metabolic efficiency. Deciphering how and by which mechanisms land-use change affects microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) will enable the development of mitigation strategies to alleviate C losses. We assessed CUE using 18O-labelled water in a paired-plot approach on soils collected from 19 farms across the subarctic region of Yukon, Canada, comprising 14 pairs of forest-to-grassland conversion and 15 pairs of forest-to-cropland conversion. Microbial CUE significantly increased following conversion to grassland and cropland. Land-use conversion resulted in a lower estimated abundance of fungi, while the archaeal abundance increased. Interestingly, structural equation modelling revealed that increases in CUE were mediated by a rise in soil pH and a decrease in soil C:N ratio rather than by shifts in microbial community composition, i.e. the ratio of fungi, bacteria and archaea. Our findings indicate a direct control of abiotic factors on microbial CUE via improved nutrient availability and facilitated conditions for microbial growth. Overall, this implies that to a certain extent CUE can be managed to achieve a more efficient build-up of stabilised soil organic C (SOC), as reflected in increased mineral-associated organic C under agricultural land use. These insights may also help constrain SOC models that generally struggle to predict the effects of deforestation, something that is likely to take place more frequently in the subarctic.",
keywords = "O-labelling method, Archaea, Climate change, Land-use change, Microbial carbon use efficiency, Structural equation modelling",
author = "Julia Schroeder and Tino Peplau and Frank Pennekamp and Edward Gregorich and Tebbe, {Christoph C.} and Christopher Poeplau",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, The Author(s).",
year = "2024",
month = jan,
doi = "10.1007/s00374-022-01669-2",
language = "English",
volume = "60",
pages = "17–34",
journal = "Biology and fertility of soils",
issn = "0178-2762",
publisher = "Springer Verlag",
number = "1",

}

Download

TY - JOUR

T1 - Deforestation for agriculture increases microbial carbon use efficiency in subarctic soils

AU - Schroeder, Julia

AU - Peplau, Tino

AU - Pennekamp, Frank

AU - Gregorich, Edward

AU - Tebbe, Christoph C.

AU - Poeplau, Christopher

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2024/1

Y1 - 2024/1

N2 - Agriculture is likely to expand poleward with climate change, encouraging deforestation for agriculture in subarctic regions, which alters soil physical, chemical and biological properties and potentially affects microbial metabolic efficiency. Deciphering how and by which mechanisms land-use change affects microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) will enable the development of mitigation strategies to alleviate C losses. We assessed CUE using 18O-labelled water in a paired-plot approach on soils collected from 19 farms across the subarctic region of Yukon, Canada, comprising 14 pairs of forest-to-grassland conversion and 15 pairs of forest-to-cropland conversion. Microbial CUE significantly increased following conversion to grassland and cropland. Land-use conversion resulted in a lower estimated abundance of fungi, while the archaeal abundance increased. Interestingly, structural equation modelling revealed that increases in CUE were mediated by a rise in soil pH and a decrease in soil C:N ratio rather than by shifts in microbial community composition, i.e. the ratio of fungi, bacteria and archaea. Our findings indicate a direct control of abiotic factors on microbial CUE via improved nutrient availability and facilitated conditions for microbial growth. Overall, this implies that to a certain extent CUE can be managed to achieve a more efficient build-up of stabilised soil organic C (SOC), as reflected in increased mineral-associated organic C under agricultural land use. These insights may also help constrain SOC models that generally struggle to predict the effects of deforestation, something that is likely to take place more frequently in the subarctic.

AB - Agriculture is likely to expand poleward with climate change, encouraging deforestation for agriculture in subarctic regions, which alters soil physical, chemical and biological properties and potentially affects microbial metabolic efficiency. Deciphering how and by which mechanisms land-use change affects microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) will enable the development of mitigation strategies to alleviate C losses. We assessed CUE using 18O-labelled water in a paired-plot approach on soils collected from 19 farms across the subarctic region of Yukon, Canada, comprising 14 pairs of forest-to-grassland conversion and 15 pairs of forest-to-cropland conversion. Microbial CUE significantly increased following conversion to grassland and cropland. Land-use conversion resulted in a lower estimated abundance of fungi, while the archaeal abundance increased. Interestingly, structural equation modelling revealed that increases in CUE were mediated by a rise in soil pH and a decrease in soil C:N ratio rather than by shifts in microbial community composition, i.e. the ratio of fungi, bacteria and archaea. Our findings indicate a direct control of abiotic factors on microbial CUE via improved nutrient availability and facilitated conditions for microbial growth. Overall, this implies that to a certain extent CUE can be managed to achieve a more efficient build-up of stabilised soil organic C (SOC), as reflected in increased mineral-associated organic C under agricultural land use. These insights may also help constrain SOC models that generally struggle to predict the effects of deforestation, something that is likely to take place more frequently in the subarctic.

KW - O-labelling method

KW - Archaea

KW - Climate change

KW - Land-use change

KW - Microbial carbon use efficiency

KW - Structural equation modelling

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139451758&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1007/s00374-022-01669-2

DO - 10.1007/s00374-022-01669-2

M3 - Article

VL - 60

SP - 17

EP - 34

JO - Biology and fertility of soils

JF - Biology and fertility of soils

SN - 0178-2762

IS - 1

ER -

Von denselben Autoren