Articles | Volume 22, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-6097-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-22-6097-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
28 Oct 2025
Research article |
| 28 Oct 2025
| 28 Oct 2025
Soil signals of key mechanisms driving greater protection of organic carbon under aspen compared to spruce forests in a North American montane ecosystem
Lena Wang
College of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Oregon State University, 101 SW 26th St, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Sharon A. Billings
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, 2101 Constant Ave., Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 212 Sackett, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Daniel R. Hirmas
Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, 2500 Broadway Lubbock, TX 7940, USA
Keira Johnson
College of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Oregon State University, 101 SW 26th St, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Devon Kerins
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 212 Sackett, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Julio Pachon
Sydney Institute of Agriculture, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Curtis Beutler
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley CA, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California Riverside, 2460B Geology Building, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
Karla M. Jarecke
College of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Oregon State University, 101 SW 26th St, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Vaishnavi Varikuti
Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, 2500 Broadway Lubbock, TX 7940, USA
Micah Unruh
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, 2101 Constant Ave., Lawrence, KS 66047, USA
Hoori Ajami
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gothic 8000 Co Rd 317, Crested Butte, CO 81224, USA
Holly Barnard
Department of Geography, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado – Boulder, Guggenheim 110, 260 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0260, USA
Alejandro N. Flores
Department of Geosciences, Boise State University, 1295 University Drive, Boise, ID 83706, USA
Kenneth Williams
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley CA, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California Riverside, 2460B Geology Building, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
Pamela L. Sullivan
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
College of Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Oregon State University, 101 SW 26th St, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Data sets
DWCZ CO - Coal Creek (CC) Pamela Sullivan and Li Li http://www.hydroshare.org/resource/9948ad04a9a74246ad9bd5f8decb40b9
Short summary
Our study looked at how different forest types and conditions affected soil microbes and soil carbon and stability. Aspen organic matter led to higher microbial activity, smaller soil aggregates, and more stable soil carbon, possibly reducing dissolved organic carbon movement from hillslopes to streams. This shows the importance of models like the Microbial Efficiency – Matrix Stabilization framework for predicting CO2 release, soil carbon stability, and carbon movement.
Our study looked at how different forest types and conditions affected soil microbes and soil...
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