Title: Decreased growth of wild soil microbes after 15 years of transplant‐induced warming in a montane meadow

Abstract

Abstract The carbon stored in soil exceeds that of plant biomass and atmospheric carbon and its stability can impact global climate. Growth of decomposer microorganisms mediates both the accrual and loss of soil carbon. Growth is sensitive to temperature and given the vast biological diversity of soil microorganisms, the response of decomposer growth rates to warming may be strongly idiosyncratic, varying among taxa, making ecosystem predictions difficult. Here, we show that 15 years of warming by transplanting plant–soil mesocosms down in elevation, strongly reduced the growth rates of soil microorganisms, measured in the field using undisturbed soil. The magnitude of the response to warming varied among microbial taxa. However, the direction of the response—reduced growth—was universal and warming explained twofold more variation than did the sum of taxonomic identity and its interaction with warming. For this ecosystem, most of the growth responses to warming could be explained without taxon‐specific information, suggesting that in some cases microbial responses measured in aggregate may be adequate for climate modeling. Long‐term experimental warming also reduced soil carbon content, likely a consequence of a warming‐induced increase in decomposition, as warming‐induced changes in plant productivity were negligible. The loss of soil carbon and decreased microbial biomass withmore » warming may explain the reduced growth of the microbial community, more than the direct effects of temperature on growth. These findings show that direct and indirect effects of long‐term warming can reduce growth rates of soil microbes, which may have important feedbacks to global warming.« less

Authors:

Purcell, Alicia M.  ^[1];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Purcell, Alicia M."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-4778-4717"

Hayer, Michaela ^[1]; Koch, Benjamin J. ^[1]; Mau, Rebecca L. ^[1]; Blazewicz, Steven J. ^[2]; Dijkstra, Paul ^[1]; Mack, Michelle C. ^[1]; Marks, Jane C. ^[1]; Morrissey, Ember M.  ^[3];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Morrissey, Ember M."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-5810-1096"

Pett‐Ridge, Jennifer  ^[4];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Pett‐Ridge, Jennifer"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-4439-2398"

Rubin, Rachel L.  ^[5];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Rubin, Rachel L."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-8432-6811"

Schwartz, Egbert ^[1]; van Gestel, Natasja C.  ^[6];

• Search DOE PAGES for author "van Gestel, Natasja C."
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-7885-9793"

Hungate, Bruce A. ^[1]

---

+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Department of Biological Sciences Center for Ecosystem Science and Society Northern Arizona University Flagstaff Arizona USA
2. Physical and Life Sciences Directorate Lawrence Livermore National Lab Livermore California USA
3. Division of Plant and Soil Sciences West Virginia University Morgantown West Virginia USA
4. Physical and Life Sciences Directorate Lawrence Livermore National Lab Livermore California USA, Life &, Environmental Sciences Department University of California Merced Merced CA USA
5. Department of Environmental Sciences Mount Holyoke College South Hadley Massachusetts USA
6. Department of Biological Sciences &, TTU Climate Center Texas Tech University Lubbock Texas USA

Publication Date:

Fri Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2021

Research Org.:

Northern Arizona Univ., Flagstaff, AZ (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF)

OSTI Identifier:

1826631

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1833759; OSTI ID: 1904426

Grant/Contract Number:  

DESC0016207; SCW1590; SCW1679; DE‐AC52‐07NA27344; SC0016207; AC52-07NA27344; NSF 1754204

Resource Type:

Published Article

Journal Name:

Global Change Biology

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: Global Change Biology Journal Volume: 28 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 1354-1013

Publisher:

Wiley-Blackwell

Country of Publication:

United Kingdom

Language:

English

Subject:

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Biodiversity & Conservation; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Field qSIP; Soil microbe response to ecosystem warming