Long-term soil warming and Carbon Cycle Feedbacks to the Climate System

Technical Report · Fri Jun 13 04:00:00 EDT 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1129843· OSTI ID:1129843

Melillo, Jerry M. ^[1]

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1. Marine Biological Laboratory, Falmouth, MA (United States); Marine Biological Laboratory

The primary objective of the proposed research was to quantify and explain the effects of a sustained in situ 5°C soil temperature increase on net carbon (C) storage in a northeastern deciduous forest ecosystem. The research was done at an established soil warming experiment at the Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts – Barre Woods site established in 2001. In the field, a series of plant and soil measurements were made to quantify changes in C storage in the ecosystem and to provide insights into the possible relationships between C-storage changes and nitrogen (N) cycling changes in the warmed plots. Field measurements included: 1) annual woody increment; 2) litterfall; 3) carbon dioxide (CO₂) efflux from the soil surface; 4) root biomass and respiration; 5) microbial biomass; and 6) net N mineralization and net nitrification rates. This research was designed to increase our understanding of how global warming will affect the capacity of temperate forest ecosystems to store C. The work explored how soil warming changes the interactions between the C and N cycles, and how these changes affect land-atmosphere feedbacks. This core research question framed the project – What are the effects of a sustained in situ 5°C soil temperature increase on net carbon (C) storage in a northeastern deciduous forest ecosystem? A second critical question was addressed in this research – What are the effects of a sustained in situ 5°C soil temperature increase on nitrogen (N) cycling in a northeastern deciduous forest ecosystem?

• Research Organization: Marine Biological Laboratory, Falmouth, MA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: SC0005421
• OSTI ID: 1129843
• Report Number(s): DOE-MBL--5421
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES