Rapid loss of complex polymers and pyrogenic carbon in subsoils under whole-soil warming
Abstract
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.
- Authors:
-
[1];
[1];
[2];
[1];
[1]
- Univ. of Zurich (Switzerland)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 2228874
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Nature Geoscience
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 16; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1752-0894
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; carbon cycle; projection and prediction
Citation Formats
Zosso, Cyrill U., Ofiti, Nicholas O. E., Torn, Margaret S., Wiesenberg, Guido L. B., and Schmidt, Michael W. I. Rapid loss of complex polymers and pyrogenic carbon in subsoils under whole-soil warming. United States: N. p., 2023.
Web. doi:10.1038/s41561-023-01142-1.
Zosso, Cyrill U., Ofiti, Nicholas O. E., Torn, Margaret S., Wiesenberg, Guido L. B., & Schmidt, Michael W. I. Rapid loss of complex polymers and pyrogenic carbon in subsoils under whole-soil warming. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01142-1
Zosso, Cyrill U., Ofiti, Nicholas O. E., Torn, Margaret S., Wiesenberg, Guido L. B., and Schmidt, Michael W. I. Thu .
"Rapid loss of complex polymers and pyrogenic carbon in subsoils under whole-soil warming". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01142-1. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2228874.
@article{osti_2228874,
title = {Rapid loss of complex polymers and pyrogenic carbon in subsoils under whole-soil warming},
author = {Zosso, Cyrill U. and Ofiti, Nicholas O. E. and Torn, Margaret S. and Wiesenberg, Guido L. B. and Schmidt, Michael W. I.},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {10.1038/s41561-023-01142-1},
journal = {Nature Geoscience},
number = 4,
volume = 16,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Mar 30 00:00:00 EDT 2023},
month = {Thu Mar 30 00:00:00 EDT 2023}
}
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
Other availability
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.
Works referenced in this record:
A method for experimental heating of intact soil profiles for application to climate change experiments: EXPERIMENTAL HEATING OF INTACT SOIL PROFILES
journal, January 2011
- Hanson, Paul J.; Childs, Kenneth W.; Wullschleger, Stan D.
- Global Change Biology, Vol. 17, Issue 2
Temperature effects on carbon storage are controlled by soil stabilisation capacities
journal, November 2021
- Hartley, Iain P.; Hill, Tim C.; Chadburn, Sarah E.
- Nature Communications, Vol. 12, Issue 1
The Vertical Distribution of soil Organic Carbon and its Relation to Climate and Vegetation
journal, April 2000
- Jobbágy, Esteban G.; Jackson, Robert B.
- Ecological Applications, Vol. 10, Issue 2
Soil carbon loss with warming: New evidence from carbon‐degrading enzymes
journal, April 2020
- Chen, Ji; Elsgaard, Lars; Groenigen, Kees Jan
- Global Change Biology, Vol. 26, Issue 4
Temperature sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition and feedbacks to climate change
journal, March 2006
- Davidson, Eric A.; Janssens, Ivan A.
- Nature, Vol. 440, Issue 7081
Heat-proof carbon compound
journal, December 2008
- Prescott, Cindy
- Nature Geoscience, Vol. 1, Issue 12
Biopolyester Membranes of Plants: Cutin and Suberin
journal, May 1980
- Kolattukudy, P. E.
- Science, Vol. 208, Issue 4447
Analysis of Lipids and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons as Indicators of Past and Present (Micro)Biological Activity
book, January 2015
- Wiesenberg, Guido L. B.; Gocke, Martina I.
- Springer Protocols Handbooks
The whole-soil carbon flux in response to warming
journal, March 2017
- Hicks Pries, Caitlin E.; Castanha, C.; Porras, R. C.
- Science, Vol. 355, Issue 6332
Five years of whole-soil warming led to loss of subsoil carbon stocks and increased CO 2 efflux
journal, May 2021
- Soong, Jennifer L.; Castanha, Cristina; Hicks Pries, Caitlin E.
- Science Advances, Vol. 7, Issue 21
CMIP5 Models Predict Rapid and Deep Soil Warming Over the 21st Century
journal, February 2020
- Soong, Jennifer L.; Phillips, Claire L.; Ledna, Catherine
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 125, Issue 2
Biochar stability in soil: meta-analysis of decomposition and priming effects
journal, June 2015
- Wang, Jinyang; Xiong, Zhengqin; Kuzyakov, Yakov
- GCB Bioenergy, Vol. 8, Issue 3
The diagenetic behavior of cutin acids in buried conifer needles and sediments from a coastal marine environment
journal, November 1990
- Goñi, Miguel A.; Hedges, John I.
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 54, Issue 11
Labile compounds in plant litter reduce the sensitivity of decomposition to warming and altered precipitation
journal, July 2013
- Suseela, Vidya; Tharayil, Nishanth; Xing, Baoshan
- New Phytologist, Vol. 200, Issue 1
Strengthening the soil organic carbon pool by increasing contributions from recalcitrant aliphatic bio(macro)molecules
journal, November 2007
- Lorenz, Klaus; Lal, Rattan; Preston, Caroline M.
- Geoderma, Vol. 142, Issue 1-2
Characterization, Quantification and Compound-specific Isotopic Analysis of Pyrogenic Carbon Using Benzene Polycarboxylic Acids (BPCA)
journal, January 2016
- Wiedemeier, Daniel B.; Lang, Susan Q.; Gierga, Merle
- Journal of Visualized Experiments, Issue 111
Molecular trade-offs in soil organic carbon composition at continental scale
journal, September 2020
- Hall, Steven J.; Ye, Chenglong; Weintraub, Samantha R.
- Nature Geoscience, Vol. 13, Issue 10
Soil organic carbon response to global environmental change depends on its distribution between mineral-associated and particulate organic matter: A meta-analysis
journal, November 2021
- Rocci, Katherine S.; Lavallee, Jocelyn M.; Stewart, Catherine E.
- Science of The Total Environment, Vol. 793
Soil microbes and their response to experimental warming over time: A meta-analysis of field studies
journal, April 2017
- Romero-Olivares, A. L.; Allison, S. D.; Treseder, K. K.
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 107
Pyrogenic Carbon Lacks Long-Term Persistence in Temperate Arable Soils
journal, November 2017
- Lutfalla, Suzanne; Abiven, Samuel; Barré, Pierre
- Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol. 5
Conceptualizing soil organic matter into particulate and mineral‐associated forms to address global change in the 21st century
journal, November 2019
- Lavallee, Jocelyn M.; Soong, Jennifer L.; Cotrufo, M. Francesca
- Global Change Biology, Vol. 26, Issue 1
Distribution of cutin and suberin biomarkers under forest trees with different root systems
journal, April 2014
- Spielvogel, Sandra; Prietzel, Jörg; Leide, Jana
- Plant and Soil, Vol. 381, Issue 1-2
Fate of lignins in soils: A review
journal, August 2010
- Thevenot, Mathieu; Dignac, Marie-France; Rumpel, Cornelia
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 42, Issue 8
Increased cuticular carbon sequestration and lignin oxidation in response to soil warming
journal, November 2008
- Feng, Xiaojuan; Simpson, André J.; Wilson, Kevin P.
- Nature Geoscience, Vol. 1, Issue 12
Soil warming and nitrogen deposition alter soil organic matter composition at the molecular-level
journal, February 2015
- Pisani, Oliva; Frey, Serita D.; Simpson, André J.
- Biogeochemistry, Vol. 123, Issue 3
Alkaline CuO Oxidation with a Microwave Digestion System: Lignin Analyses of Geochemical Samples
journal, May 2000
- Goñi, Miguel A.; Montgomery, Shelagh
- Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 72, Issue 14
Characterization of lignin by gas capillary chromatography of cupric oxide oxidation products
journal, February 1982
- Hedges, John I.; Ertel, John R.
- Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 54, Issue 2
Changes in substrate availability drive carbon cycle response to chronic warming
journal, July 2017
- Pold, Grace; Grandy, A. Stuart; Melillo, Jerry M.
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 110
Biochar in climate change mitigation
journal, December 2021
- Lehmann, Johannes; Cowie, Annette; Masiello, Caroline A.
- Nature Geoscience, Vol. 14, Issue 12
Stronger warming effects on microbial abundances in colder regions
journal, December 2015
- Chen, Ji; Luo, Yiqi; Xia, Jianyang
- Scientific Reports, Vol. 5, Issue 1
Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property
journal, October 2011
- Schmidt, Michael W. I.; Torn, Margaret S.; Abiven, Samuel
- Nature, Vol. 478, Issue 7367
A meta-analysis of the response of soil respiration, net nitrogen mineralization, and aboveground plant growth to experimental ecosystem warming
journal, February 2001
- Rustad, L.; Campbell, J.; Marion, G.
- Oecologia, Vol. 126, Issue 4
Managing uncertainty in soil carbon feedbacks to climate change
journal, July 2016
- Bradford, Mark A.; Wieder, William R.; Bonan, Gordon B.
- Nature Climate Change, Vol. 6, Issue 8
Importance of suberin biopolymer in plant function, contributions to soil organic carbon and in the production of bio-derived energy and materials
journal, March 2021
- Harman-Ware, Anne E.; Sparks, Samuel; Addison, Bennett
- Biotechnology for Biofuels, Vol. 14, Issue 1
Turnover rates of hydrolysable aliphatic lipids in Duke Forest soils determined by compound specific 13C isotopic analysis
journal, June 2010
- Feng, Xiaojuan; Xu, Yunping; Jaffé, Rudolf
- Organic Geochemistry, Vol. 41, Issue 6
Biogeochemical evolution of soil organic matter composition after a decade of warming and nitrogen addition
journal, August 2021
- vandenEnden, Lori; Anthony, Mark A.; Frey, Serita D.
- Biogeochemistry, Vol. 156, Issue 2
Warming promotes loss of subsoil carbon through accelerated degradation of plant-derived organic matter
journal, May 2021
- Ofiti, Nicholas O. E.; Zosso, Cyrill U.; Soong, Jennifer L.
- Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 156
Stability of organic carbon in deep soil layers controlled by fresh carbon supply
journal, November 2007
- Fontaine, Sébastien; Barot, Sébastien; Barré, Pierre
- Nature, Vol. 450, Issue 7167
Über die Reaktionsgeschwindigkeit bei der Inversion von Rohrzucker durch Säuren
journal, January 1889
- Arrhenius, Svante
- Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie, Vol. 4U, Issue 1
Climate warming alters subsoil but not topsoil carbon dynamics in alpine grassland
journal, October 2019
- Jia, Juan; Cao, Zhenjiao; Liu, Chengzhu
- Global Change Biology, Vol. 25, Issue 12
Can cutin and suberin biomarkers be used to trace shoot and root-derived organic matter? A molecular and isotopic approach
journal, February 2010
- Mendez-Millan, Mercedes; Dignac, Marie-France; Rumpel, Cornelia
- Biogeochemistry, Vol. 106, Issue 1
Responses of ecosystem carbon cycle to experimental warming: a meta-analysis
journal, March 2013
- Lu, Meng; Zhou, Xuhui; Yang, Qiang
- Ecology, Vol. 94, Issue 3
Deep soil organic matter—a key but poorly understood component of terrestrial C cycle
journal, May 2010
- Rumpel, Cornelia; Kögel-Knabner, Ingrid
- Plant and Soil, Vol. 338, Issue 1-2
A meta-analysis of 1,119 manipulative experiments on terrestrial carbon-cycling responses to global change
journal, August 2019
- Song, Jian; Wan, Shiqiang; Piao, Shilong
- Nature Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 3, Issue 9