Determinants of carbon release from the active layer and permafrost deposits on the Tibetan Plateau

Leiyi Chen, Junyi Liang, Shuqi Qin, Li Liu, Kai Fang, Yunping Xu, Jinzhi Ding, Fei Li, Yiqi Luo and Yuanhe Yang ()
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Leiyi Chen: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Junyi Liang: University of Oklahoma
Shuqi Qin: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Li Liu: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kai Fang: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yunping Xu: Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciecnces, Peking University
Jinzhi Ding: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Fei Li: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yiqi Luo: University of Oklahoma
Yuanhe Yang: State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The sign and magnitude of permafrost carbon (C)-climate feedback are highly uncertain due to the limited understanding of the decomposability of thawing permafrost and relevant mechanistic controls over C release. Here, by combining aerobic incubation with biomarker analysis and a three-pool model, we reveal that C quality (represented by a higher amount of fast cycling C but a lower amount of recalcitrant C compounds) and normalized CO2–C release in permafrost deposits were similar or even higher than those in the active layer, demonstrating a high vulnerability of C in Tibetan upland permafrost. We also illustrate that C quality exerts the most control over CO2–C release from the active layer, whereas soil microbial abundance is more directly associated with CO2–C release after permafrost thaw. Taken together, our findings highlight the importance of incorporating microbial properties into Earth System Models when predicting permafrost C dynamics under a changing environment.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13046

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