Rapid loss of complex polymers and pyrogenic carbon in subsoils under whole-soil warming

Zosso, Cyrill U.; Ofiti, Nicholas O. E.; Torn, Margaret S.; Wiesenberg, Guido L. B.; Schmidt, Michael W. I.

doi:10.1038/s41561-023-01142-1

Rapid loss of complex polymers and pyrogenic carbon in subsoils under whole-soil warming

Journal Article · Thu Mar 30 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Nature Geoscience

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01142-1· OSTI ID:2228874

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Univ. of Zurich (Switzerland)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

Subsoils contain more than half of soil organic carbon (SOC) and are expected to experience rapid warming in the coming decades. Yet our understanding of the stability of this vast carbon pool under global warming is uncertain. In particular, the fate of complex molecular structures (polymers) remains debated. Here we show that 4.5 years of whole-soil warming (+4 °C) resulted in less polymeric SOC (sum of specific polymers contributing to SOC) in the warmed subsoil (20–90 cm) relative to control, with no detectable change in topsoil. Warming stimulated the subsoil loss of lignin phenols (–17 ± 0%) derived from woody plant biomass, hydrolysable lipids cutin and suberin, derived from leaf and woody plant biomass (–28 ± 3%), and pyrogenic carbon (–37 ± 8%) produced during incomplete combustion. Given that these compounds have been proposed for long-term carbon sequestration, it is notable that they were rapidly lost in warmed soils. We conclude that complex polymeric carbon in subsoil is vulnerable to decomposition and propose that molecular structure alone may not protect compounds from degradation under future warming.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 2228874

Journal Information:: Nature Geoscience, Journal Name: Nature Geoscience Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 16; ISSN 1752-0894

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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