Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e2020JG006181 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences |
| Volume | 127 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2022 |
Abstract
Permafrost-affected soils in the northern circumpolar region store more than 1,000 Pg soil organic carbon (OC), and are strongly vulnerable to climatic warming. However, the extent to which changing soil environmental conditions with permafrost thaw affects different compounds of soil organic matter (OM) is poorly understood. Here, we assessed the fate of lignin and non-cellulosic carbohydrates in density fractionated soils (light fraction, LF vs. heavy fraction, HF) from three permafrost regions with decreasing continentality, expanding from east to west of northern Siberia (Cherskiy, Logata, Tazovskiy, respectively). In soils at the Tazovskiy site with thicker active layers, the LF showed smaller OC-normalized contents of lignin-derived phenols and plant-derived sugars and a decrease of these compounds with soil depth, while a constant or even increasing trend was observed in soils with shallower active layers (Cherskiy and Logata). Also in the HF, soils at the Tazovskiy site had smaller contents of OC-normalized lignin-derived phenols and plant-derived sugars along with more pronounced indicators of oxidative lignin decomposition and production of microbial-derived sugars. Active layer deepening, thus, likely favors the decomposition of lignin and plant-derived sugars, that is, lignocelluloses, by increasing water drainage and aeration. Our study suggests that climate-induced degradation of permafrost soils may promote carbon losses from lignin and associated polysaccharides by abolishing context-specific preservation mechanisms. However, relations of OC-based lignin-derived phenols and sugars in the HF with mineralogical properties suggest that future OM transformation and carbon losses will be modulated in addition by reactive soil minerals.
Keywords
- carbohydrate, density fractionation, lignin, mineral-associated organic matter, permafrost soils, soil organic matter decomposition
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Soil Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Forestry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Water Science and Technology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Palaeontology
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Atmospheric Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Aquatic Science
- Environmental Science(all)
- Ecology
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 127, No. 1, e2020JG006181, 01.2022.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Lignin Preservation and Microbial Carbohydrate Metabolism in Permafrost Soils
AU - Dao, Thao Thi
AU - Mikutta, Robert
AU - Sauheitl, Leopold
AU - Gentsch, Norman
AU - Shibistova, Olga
AU - Wild, Birgit
AU - Schnecker, Jörg
AU - Bárta, Jiří
AU - Čapek, Petr
AU - Gittel, Antje
AU - Lashchinskiy, Nikolay
AU - Urich, Tim
AU - Šantrůčková, Hana
AU - Richter, Andreas
AU - Guggenberger, Georg
N1 - Funding Information: Financial support was provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (03F0616A) within the ERANET EUROPOLAR project CryoCARB. T.T. Dao is grateful for financial support from Vietnamese Education, O. Shibistova acknowledges funding from the National Science Foundation of China and Russian Foundation for Basic Research (NSFC‐RFBR joint project No 19‐54‐53026), and A. Richter, B. Wild and J. Schnecker appreciate the financial support from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF ‐ I370‐B17). We thank all members of the CryoCARB project team for their incredible team spirit. We are grateful to the technical staff of the Institute of Soil Science in Hannover for great laboratory assistance. Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Permafrost-affected soils in the northern circumpolar region store more than 1,000 Pg soil organic carbon (OC), and are strongly vulnerable to climatic warming. However, the extent to which changing soil environmental conditions with permafrost thaw affects different compounds of soil organic matter (OM) is poorly understood. Here, we assessed the fate of lignin and non-cellulosic carbohydrates in density fractionated soils (light fraction, LF vs. heavy fraction, HF) from three permafrost regions with decreasing continentality, expanding from east to west of northern Siberia (Cherskiy, Logata, Tazovskiy, respectively). In soils at the Tazovskiy site with thicker active layers, the LF showed smaller OC-normalized contents of lignin-derived phenols and plant-derived sugars and a decrease of these compounds with soil depth, while a constant or even increasing trend was observed in soils with shallower active layers (Cherskiy and Logata). Also in the HF, soils at the Tazovskiy site had smaller contents of OC-normalized lignin-derived phenols and plant-derived sugars along with more pronounced indicators of oxidative lignin decomposition and production of microbial-derived sugars. Active layer deepening, thus, likely favors the decomposition of lignin and plant-derived sugars, that is, lignocelluloses, by increasing water drainage and aeration. Our study suggests that climate-induced degradation of permafrost soils may promote carbon losses from lignin and associated polysaccharides by abolishing context-specific preservation mechanisms. However, relations of OC-based lignin-derived phenols and sugars in the HF with mineralogical properties suggest that future OM transformation and carbon losses will be modulated in addition by reactive soil minerals.
AB - Permafrost-affected soils in the northern circumpolar region store more than 1,000 Pg soil organic carbon (OC), and are strongly vulnerable to climatic warming. However, the extent to which changing soil environmental conditions with permafrost thaw affects different compounds of soil organic matter (OM) is poorly understood. Here, we assessed the fate of lignin and non-cellulosic carbohydrates in density fractionated soils (light fraction, LF vs. heavy fraction, HF) from three permafrost regions with decreasing continentality, expanding from east to west of northern Siberia (Cherskiy, Logata, Tazovskiy, respectively). In soils at the Tazovskiy site with thicker active layers, the LF showed smaller OC-normalized contents of lignin-derived phenols and plant-derived sugars and a decrease of these compounds with soil depth, while a constant or even increasing trend was observed in soils with shallower active layers (Cherskiy and Logata). Also in the HF, soils at the Tazovskiy site had smaller contents of OC-normalized lignin-derived phenols and plant-derived sugars along with more pronounced indicators of oxidative lignin decomposition and production of microbial-derived sugars. Active layer deepening, thus, likely favors the decomposition of lignin and plant-derived sugars, that is, lignocelluloses, by increasing water drainage and aeration. Our study suggests that climate-induced degradation of permafrost soils may promote carbon losses from lignin and associated polysaccharides by abolishing context-specific preservation mechanisms. However, relations of OC-based lignin-derived phenols and sugars in the HF with mineralogical properties suggest that future OM transformation and carbon losses will be modulated in addition by reactive soil minerals.
KW - carbohydrate
KW - density fractionation
KW - lignin
KW - mineral-associated organic matter
KW - permafrost soils
KW - soil organic matter decomposition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123702620&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2020JG006181
DO - 10.1029/2020JG006181
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85123702620
VL - 127
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
SN - 2169-8953
IS - 1
M1 - e2020JG006181
ER -