Warming promotes loss of subsoil carbon through accelerated degradation of plant-derived organic matter

Ofiti, Nicholas O E; Zosso, Cyrill U; Soong, Jennifer L; Solly, Emily F; Torn, Margaret S; Wiesenberg, Guido L B; Schmidt, Michael W I

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108185

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Ofiti, N. O. E., Zosso, C. U., Soong, J. L., Solly, E. F., Torn, M. S., Wiesenberg, G. L. B., & Schmidt, M. W. I. (2021). Warming promotes loss of subsoil carbon through accelerated degradation of plant-derived organic matter. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 156, 108185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108185

Abstract

Increasing global temperatures have the potential to stimulate decomposition and alter the composition of soil organic matter (SOM). However, questions remain about the extent to which SOM quality and quantity along the soil profile may change under future warming. In this study we assessed how +4 °C whole-soil warming affected the quantity and quality of SOM down to 90 cm depth in a mixed-coniferous temperate forest using biomarker analyses. Our findings indicate that 4.5 years of soil warming led to divergent responses in subsoils (