We used a laboratory experiment to examine how climate change and permafrost melting might alter soils in high-latitude regions. Soils were subjected to two temperatures and drought, and gas emissions were monitored. Carbon dioxide fluxes were influenced by temperature, water, and soil nitrogen, while methane emissions were much smaller and linked only with nitrogen. This suggests that such soils may be very sensitive to changes in moisture as discontinuous permafrost thaws in interior Alaska.