Cross-biome patterns in soil microbial respiration predictable from evolutionary theory on thermal adaptation

Climate warming may stimulate microbial metabolism of soil carbon, causing a carbon-cycle-climate feedback whereby carbon is redistributed from the soil to atmospheric CO₂. The magnitude of this feedback is uncertain, in part because warming-induced shifts in microbial physiology and/or community composition could retard or accelerate soil carbon losses. Here, we measure microbial respiration rates for soils collected from 22 sites in each of 3 years, at locations spanning boreal to tropical climates. Respiration was measured in the laboratory with standard temperatures, moisture and excess carbon substrate, to allow physiological and community effects to be detected independent of the influence of these abiotic controls. Patterns in respiration for soils collected across the climate gradient are consistent with evolutionary theory on physiological responses that compensate for positive effects of temperature on metabolism. Respiration rates per unit microbial biomass were as much as 2.6 times higher for soils sampled from sites with a mean annual temperature of -2.0 versus 21.7 °C. Subsequent 100-d incubations suggested differences in the plasticity of the thermal response among microbial communities, with communities sampled from sites with higher mean annual temperature having a more plastic response. Our findings are consistent with adaptive metabolic responses to contrasting thermal regimes that are also observed in plants and animals. These results may help build confidence in soil-carbon-climate feedback projections by improving understanding of microbial processes represented in biogeochemical models.