Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 6, 2025
07:32
Monitoring Pedogenic Inorganic Carbon Accumulation Due to Weathering of Amended Silicate Minerals in Agricultural Soils.
Published on: June 4, 2021
5.3K
Controls over carbon storage and turnover in high-latitude soils
Sarah E Hobbie1, Joshua P Schimel2, Susan E Trumbore3
1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 100 Ecology Bldg, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108.
Global Change Biology
|January 14, 2022
Summary
Arctic and boreal ecosystems are vital for the carbon cycle, but current carbon flux estimates are uncertain. Understanding unique northern factors like mosses and winter activity is crucial for predicting climate change impacts.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Biogeochemistry
- Climate Science
Background:
- Arctic and boreal regions play a critical role in the global carbon cycle.
- Current estimates of high-latitude carbon fluxes exhibit significant variability in magnitude and direction.
- Accurate carbon flux data is essential for predicting ecosystem responses to global change.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review factors controlling carbon turnover in high-latitude soils.
- To highlight unique northern system characteristics often overlooked by current biogeochemical models.
- To identify knowledge gaps in understanding carbon cycling in Arctic and boreal regions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of factors influencing carbon turnover in high-latitude soils.
- Analysis of unique northern ecosystem characteristics (e.g., moss dominance, permafrost).
- Examination of winter biological activity and landscape-scale processes.
Main Results:
- Moss-dominated systems exhibit slow decomposition rates not captured by standard litter quality indices.
- Interactions between cold temperatures, permafrost, waterlogging, and substrate quality stabilize soil organic matter, with their climate change response being unknown.
- Significant contributions of winter biological activity to annual carbon fluxes are recognized, but their controlling factors are poorly understood.
- Landscape processes like fire and permafrost dynamics complicate the scaling of site-level measurements to regional carbon flux estimations.
Conclusions:
- Current biogeochemical models inadequately represent unique northern factors affecting carbon cycling.
- Further research is needed to understand the interplay of cold, permafrost, and waterlogging on soil organic matter stabilization and climate change impacts.
- Investigating winter biological activity and landscape-scale processes is crucial for improving regional carbon flux estimates and predicting the future of Arctic and boreal ecosystems under global change.
More Related Videos
07:22Author Spotlight: Unraveling the Role of Earthworms in Enhancing Mineral Weathering for CO2 Removal
Published on: November 10, 2023
3.7K
10:16Design and Operation of a Continuous 13C and 15N Labeling Chamber for Uniform or Differential, Metabolic and Structural, Plant Isotope Labeling
Published on: January 16, 2014
22.3K
Related Concept Videos
01:14The Carbon Cycle
40.9K
Carbon is the basis of all organic matter on Earth, and is recycled through the ecosystem in two primary processes: one in which carbon is exchanged among living organisms, and one in which carbon is cycled over long periods of time through fossilized organic remains, weathering of rocks, and volcanic activity. Human activities, including increased agricultural practices and the burning of fossil fuels, has greatly affected the balance of the natural carbon cycle.
40.9K
01:28Carbon-dioxide Fixation
141
Carbon dioxide fixation in prokaryotes enables the assimilation of inorganic carbon into organic molecules, supporting biosynthetic pathways, sustaining ecosystems, and contributing to the global carbon cycle. It also has industrial applications in carbon capture and bioproduct synthesis. Autotrophic organisms rely on this process to utilize CO₂ as a carbon source in diverse environments.The Calvin CycleThe Calvin cycle is the most widespread carbon fixation mechanism, primarily used by...
141
01:27C4 Pathway and CAM
46.6K
Most plants use the C3 pathway for carbon fixation. However, some plants, such as sugar cane, corn, and cacti that grow in hot conditions, use alternative pathways to fix carbon and conserve energy loss due to photorespiration. Photorespiration is the process that occurs when the oxygen concentration is high. Under such conditions, the rubisco enzyme in the Calvin cycle binds O2 instead of CO2, which halts photosynthesis and consumes energy.
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
46.6K
01:46The Calvin Benson Cycle
4.8K
Ribulose 1,5- bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCo) is a critical enzyme that catalyzes carbon dioxide assimilation during photosynthesis. However, it is an inefficient enzyme, having an extremely slow catalytic rate. A typical enzyme can process about a thousand molecules per second; however, RuBisCo fixes only around three-carbon dioxides per second. Photosynthetic cells compensate for this slow rate by synthesizing very high amounts of RuBisCo, making it the most abundant single...
4.8K
02:23The Soil Ecosystem
22.7K
Plants obtain inorganic minerals and water from the soil, which acts as a natural medium for land plants. The composition and quality of soil depend not only on the chemical constituents but also on the presence of living organisms. In general, soils contain three major components:
22.7K
02:04Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
29.3K
During photosynthesis, plants acquire the necessary carbon dioxide and release the produced oxygen back into the atmosphere. Openings in the epidermis of plant leaves is the site of this exchange of gasses. A single opening is called a stoma—derived from the Greek word for “mouth.” Stomata open and close in response to a variety of environmental cues.
29.3K