Articles | Volume 19, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3381-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3381-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
BG Letters
| Highlight paper
| 
20 Jul 2022
BG Letters | Highlight paper |
| 20 Jul 2022
| 20 Jul 2022
Soil carbon loss in warmed subarctic grasslands is rapid and restricted to topsoil
Niel Verbrigghe
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Research Group Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Niki I. W. Leblans
Research Group Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Climate Impacts Research Centre, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Bjarni D. Sigurdsson
Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Agricultural University of Iceland, Hvanneyri, Borgarnes, Iceland
Sara Vicca
Research Group Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Chao Fang
Research Group Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
School of Applied Meteorology, Institute of Ecology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China
State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Institute of Arid Agroecology, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
Lucia Fuchslueger
Research Group Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Jennifer L. Soong
Research Group Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Soil and Crop Sciences Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
James T. Weedon
Systems Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Christopher Poeplau
Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture, Braunschweig, Germany
Cristina Ariza-Carricondo
Research Group Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Michael Bahn
Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Bertrand Guenet
Laboratoire de Géologie, École normale supérieure/CNRS, PSL Research University, Paris, France
Per Gundersen
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark
Gunnhildur E. Gunnarsdóttir
Soil Conservation Service of Iceland, Gunnarsholt, Hella, Iceland
Thomas Kätterer
Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
Zhanfeng Liu
Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems & CAS Engineering Laboratory for Vegetation Ecosystem Restoration on Islands and Coastal Zones, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Marja Maljanen
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Sara Marañón-Jiménez
CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF–CSIC–UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Kathiravan Meeran
Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Edda S. Oddsdóttir
Icelandic Forest Research, Mógilsá, Reykjavík, Iceland
Ivika Ostonen
Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Josep Peñuelas
CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF–CSIC–UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Andreas Richter
Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria
Jordi Sardans
CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
CSIC, Global Ecology Unit CREAF–CSIC–UAB, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Páll Sigurðsson
Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Agricultural University of Iceland, Hvanneyri, Borgarnes, Iceland
Margaret S. Torn
Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Berkeley Lab, Berkeley, California, USA
Peter M. Van Bodegom
Environmental Biology Department, Institute of Environmental Sciences, CML, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
Erik Verbruggen
Research Group Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Tom W. N. Walker
Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Håkan Wallander
MEMEG, Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Ivan A. Janssens
Research Group Plants and Ecosystems, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
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Cited
18 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Warming Weakens Soil Nitrogen Stabilization Pathways Driving Proportional Carbon Losses in Subarctic Ecosystems S. Marañón‐Jiménez et al. 10.1111/gcb.70309
- Medium management intensity supports largest topsoil organic carbon stocks in mountain grassland M. Volk et al. 10.1080/03650340.2025.2490082
- Inferring the relationship between soil temperature and the normalized difference vegetation index with machine learning S. Mortier et al. 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2024.102730
- Rapid loss of organic carbon and soil structure in mountainous grassland topsoils induced by simulated climate change N. Garcia-Franco et al. 10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116807
- Permafrost degradation and its consequences for carbon storage in soils of Interior Alaska P. Liebmann et al. 10.1007/s10533-024-01132-4
- When things get MESI: The Manipulation Experiments Synthesis Initiative—A coordinated effort to synthesize terrestrial global change experiments K. Van Sundert et al. 10.1111/gcb.16585
- Earthworms in an enhanced weathering mesocosm experiment: Effects on soil carbon sequestration, base cation exchange and soil CO2 efflux A. Vienne et al. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109596
- Overview: Global change effects on terrestrial biogeochemistry at the plant–soil interface L. Fuchslueger et al. 10.5194/bg-21-3959-2024
- Deforestation for agriculture leads to soil warming and enhanced litter decomposition in subarctic soils T. Peplau et al. 10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023
- Climate change: Strategies for mitigation and adaptation F. Wang et al. 10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2023.100015
- Soil warming duration and magnitude affect the dynamics of fine roots and rhizomes and associated C and N pools in subarctic grasslands B. Bhattarai et al. 10.1093/aob/mcad102
- Community adaptation to temperature explains abrupt soil bacterial community shift along a geothermal gradient on Iceland J. Weedon et al. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108914
- Decadal soil warming decreased vascular plant above and belowground production in a subarctic grassland by inducing nitrogen limitation C. Fang et al. 10.1111/nph.19177
- Carbon farming: a circular framework to augment CO2 sinks and to combat climate change S. Singh et al. 10.1039/D3VA00296A
- Warming persistently stimulates respiration from an arable soil over a decade, regardless of reduced summer precipitation V. Leyrer et al. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109439
- Long-term warming-induced trophic downgrading in the soil microbial food web M. Dahl et al. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2023.109044
- Influence of soil warming magnitude and duration on soluble sugar pool in fine roots and rhizomes of subarctic grasslands: Differences at species and plant community level adaptation B. Bhattarai et al. 10.1016/j.stress.2024.100406
- Soil carbon loss in warmed subarctic grasslands is rapid and restricted to topsoil N. Verbrigghe et al. 10.5194/bg-19-3381-2022
17 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Warming Weakens Soil Nitrogen Stabilization Pathways Driving Proportional Carbon Losses in Subarctic Ecosystems S. Marañón‐Jiménez et al. 10.1111/gcb.70309
- Medium management intensity supports largest topsoil organic carbon stocks in mountain grassland M. Volk et al. 10.1080/03650340.2025.2490082
- Inferring the relationship between soil temperature and the normalized difference vegetation index with machine learning S. Mortier et al. 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2024.102730
- Rapid loss of organic carbon and soil structure in mountainous grassland topsoils induced by simulated climate change N. Garcia-Franco et al. 10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116807
- Permafrost degradation and its consequences for carbon storage in soils of Interior Alaska P. Liebmann et al. 10.1007/s10533-024-01132-4
- When things get MESI: The Manipulation Experiments Synthesis Initiative—A coordinated effort to synthesize terrestrial global change experiments K. Van Sundert et al. 10.1111/gcb.16585
- Earthworms in an enhanced weathering mesocosm experiment: Effects on soil carbon sequestration, base cation exchange and soil CO2 efflux A. Vienne et al. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109596
- Overview: Global change effects on terrestrial biogeochemistry at the plant–soil interface L. Fuchslueger et al. 10.5194/bg-21-3959-2024
- Deforestation for agriculture leads to soil warming and enhanced litter decomposition in subarctic soils T. Peplau et al. 10.5194/bg-20-1063-2023
- Climate change: Strategies for mitigation and adaptation F. Wang et al. 10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2023.100015
- Soil warming duration and magnitude affect the dynamics of fine roots and rhizomes and associated C and N pools in subarctic grasslands B. Bhattarai et al. 10.1093/aob/mcad102
- Community adaptation to temperature explains abrupt soil bacterial community shift along a geothermal gradient on Iceland J. Weedon et al. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108914
- Decadal soil warming decreased vascular plant above and belowground production in a subarctic grassland by inducing nitrogen limitation C. Fang et al. 10.1111/nph.19177
- Carbon farming: a circular framework to augment CO2 sinks and to combat climate change S. Singh et al. 10.1039/D3VA00296A
- Warming persistently stimulates respiration from an arable soil over a decade, regardless of reduced summer precipitation V. Leyrer et al. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2024.109439
- Long-term warming-induced trophic downgrading in the soil microbial food web M. Dahl et al. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2023.109044
- Influence of soil warming magnitude and duration on soluble sugar pool in fine roots and rhizomes of subarctic grasslands: Differences at species and plant community level adaptation B. Bhattarai et al. 10.1016/j.stress.2024.100406
1 citations as recorded by crossref.
Latest update: 10 Jul 2025
Co-editor-in-chief
The authors adopted a new and attractive approach, based on the use of thermal springs appearing at different times, to study the short-term and long-term (> 50 years) effect of warming on the soil C stock under subarctic grasslands. This new approach allows to take a new look at the question of a positive feedback between temperature and soils that can amplify global warming. Indeed, most studies on this subject are based on warming experiments conducted over the short term (some years) or on questionable correlative approaches where the temperature co-varies with many other factors (e.g., study of soil C stocks along latitudinal temperature gradients). Their study challenges the current dominant view on the effect of warming on the dynamics of SOM. Indeed, results suggest that soil C losses in the subarctic grasslands studied cease after 5 years of warming. These observations corroborate those obtained in the rare ecosystem warming experiments maintained beyond 10 years. In addition, results suggest that the C stocks present in the deep soil horizons, where plant roots are not or hardly present, are not affected by warming. These unexpected discoveries, together with other recent observations, show the glaring lack of knowledge on the fundamental mechanisms of the effect of temperature on catalytic processes, which seriously compromises our ability to predict the soil-climate feedback.
The authors adopted a new and attractive approach, based on the use of thermal springs appearing...
Short summary
In subarctic grassland on a geothermal warming gradient, we found large reductions in topsoil carbon stocks, with carbon stocks linearly declining with warming intensity. Most importantly, however, we observed that soil carbon stocks stabilised within 5 years of warming and remained unaffected by warming thereafter, even after > 50 years of warming. Moreover, in contrast to the large topsoil carbon losses, subsoil carbon stocks remained unaffected after > 50 years of soil warming.
In subarctic grassland on a geothermal warming gradient, we found large reductions in topsoil...
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