Invertebrates increase the sensitivity of non-labile soil carbon to climate change

The fate of global soil carbon stores in response to predicted climate change is a ‘hotly’ debated topic. Considerable uncertainties remain as to the temperature sensitivity of non-labile soil organic matter (SOM) to decomposition. Currently, models assume that organic matter decomposition is solely...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soil biology & biochemistry 2007-03, Vol.39 (3), p.816-818
Main Authors: Briones, María Jesús Iglesias, Ostle, Nicholas J., Garnett, Mark H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
14C-bomb
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Biochemistry and biology
biodegradation
Biological and medical sciences
Chemical, physicochemical, biochemical and biological properties
climate change
earthworms
Enchytraeid worms
Enchytraeidae
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
grassland soils
Invertebrata
Physics, chemistry, biochemistry and biology of agricultural and forest soils
Soil carbon
soil invertebrates
soil organic carbon
soil organic matter
Soil science
soil temperature
Temperature sensitivity
Zoology (interactions between soil fauna and agricultural or forest soils)
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Summary:The fate of global soil carbon stores in response to predicted climate change is a ‘hotly’ debated topic. Considerable uncertainties remain as to the temperature sensitivity of non-labile soil organic matter (SOM) to decomposition. Currently, models assume that organic matter decomposition is solely controlled by the interaction between climatic conditions and soil mineral characteristics. Consequently, little attention has been paid to adaptive responses of soil decomposer organisms to climate change and their impacts on the turnover of long-standing terrestrial carbon reservoirs. Using a radiocarbon approach we found that warming increased soil invertebrate populations (Enchytraeid worms) leading to a greater turnover of older soil carbon pools. The implication of this finding is that until soil physiology and biology are meaningfully represented in ecosystem carbon models, predictions will underestimate soil carbon turnover.
ISSN:0038-0717
1879-3428
DOI:10.1016/j.soilbio.2006.09.007