Decreased Soil Organic Matter in a Long-Term Soil Warming Experiment Lowers Soil Water Holding Capacity and Affects Soil Thermal and Hydrological Buffering

Werner, W. J.; Sanderman, J.; Melillo, J. M.

doi:10.1029/2019jg005158

Title: Decreased Soil Organic Matter in a Long-Term Soil Warming Experiment Lowers Soil Water Holding Capacity and Affects Soil Thermal and Hydrological Buffering

Journal Article · Sat Apr 04 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2019jg005158· OSTI ID:1801689

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Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA (United States)

Abstract Long‐term soil warming can decrease soil organic matter (SOM), resulting in self‐reinforcing feedback to the global climate system. We investigated additional consequences of SOM reduction for soil water holding capacity (WHC) and soil thermal and hydrological buffering. At a long‐term soil warming experiment in a temperate forest in the northeastern United States, we suspended the warming treatment for 104 days during the summer of 2017. The formerly heated plot remained warmer (+0.39 °C) and drier (−0.024 cm ³ H ₂ O cm ⁻³ soil) than the control plot throughout the suspension. We measured decreased SOM content (−0.184 g SOM g ⁻¹ for O horizon soil, −0.010 g SOM g ⁻¹ for A horizon soil) and WHC (−0.82 g H ₂ O g ⁻¹ for O horizon soil, −0.18 g H ₂ O g ⁻¹ for A horizon soil) in the formerly heated plot relative to the control plot. Reduced SOM content accounted for 62% of the WHC reduction in the O horizon and 22% in the A horizon. We investigated differences in SOM composition as a possible explanation for the remaining reductions with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. We found FTIR spectra that correlated more strongly with WHC than SOM, but those particular spectra did not differ between the heated and control plots, suggesting that SOM composition affects WHC but does not explain treatment differences in this study. We conclude that SOM reductions due to soil warming can reduce WHC and hydrological and thermal buffering, further warming soil and decreasing SOM. This feedback may operate in parallel, and perhaps synergistically, with carbon cycle feedbacks to climate change.

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Research Organization:: Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0005421; SC0010740; DOE‐DE‐SC0005421; DOE‐DE‐SC0010740

OSTI ID:: 1801689

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1615137

Journal Information:: Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences, Vol. 125, Issue 4; ISSN 2169-8953

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 14 works

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