Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming

Joanna C Carey; Jianwu Tang; Pamela H Templer; Kevin D Kroeger; Thomas W Crowther; Andrew J Burton; Jeffrey S Dukes; Bridget Emmett; Serita D Frey; Mary A Heskel; Lifen Jiang; Megan B Machmuller; Jacqueline Mohan; Anne Marie Panetta; Peter B Reich; Sabine Reinsch; Xin Wang; Steven D Allison; Chris Bamminger; Scott Bridgham; Scott L Collins; Giovanbattista de Dato; William C Eddy; Brian J Enquist; Marc Estiarte; John Harte; Amanda Henderson; Bart R Johnson; Klaus Steenberg Larsen; Yiqi Luo; Sven Marhan; Jerry M Melillo; Josep Peñuelas; Laurel Pfeifer-Meister; Christian Poll; Edward Rastetter; Andrew B Reinmann; Lorien L Reynolds; Inger Kappel Schmidt; Gaius R Shaver; Aaron L Strong; Vidya Suseela; Albert Tietema

doi:10.1073/pnas.1605365113

Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming

Joanna C Carey, Jianwu Tang, Pamela H Templer, Kevin D Kroeger, Thomas W Crowther, Andrew J Burton, Jeffrey S Dukes, Bridget Emmett, Serita D Frey, Mary A Heskel, Lifen Jiang, Megan B Machmuller, Jacqueline Mohan, Anne Marie Panetta, Peter B Reich, Sabine Reinsch, Xin Wang, Steven D Allison, Chris Bamminger, Scott BridghamScott L Collins, Giovanbattista de Dato, William C Eddy, Brian J Enquist, Marc Estiarte, John Harte, Amanda Henderson, Bart R Johnson, Klaus Steenberg Larsen, Yiqi Luo, Sven Marhan, Jerry M Melillo, Josep Peñuelas, Laurel Pfeifer-Meister, Christian Poll, Edward Rastetter, Andrew B Reinmann, Lorien L Reynolds, Inger Kappel Schmidt, Gaius R Shaver, Aaron L Strong, Vidya Suseela, Albert Tietema

Forest, Nature and Biomass

165 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The respiratory release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from soil is a major yet poorly understood flux in the global carbon cycle. Climatic warming is hypothesized to increase rates of soil respiration, potentially fueling further increases in global temperatures. However, despite considerable scientific attention in recent decades, the overall response of soil respiration to anticipated climatic warming remains unclear. We synthesize the largest global dataset to date of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements, totaling >3,800 observations representing 27 temperature manipulation studies, spanning nine biomes and over 2 decades of warming. Our analysis reveals no significant differences in the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration between control and warmed plots in all biomes, with the exception of deserts and boreal forests. Thus, our data provide limited evidence of acclimation of soil respiration to experimental warming in several major biome types, contrary to the results from multiple single-site studies. Moreover, across all nondesert biomes, respiration rates with and without experimental warming follow a Gaussian response, increasing with soil temperature up to a threshold of ∼25 °C, above which respiration rates decrease with further increases in temperature. This consistent decrease in temperature sensitivity at higher temperatures demonstrates that rising global temperatures may result in regionally variable responses in soil respiration, with colder climates being considerably more responsive to increased ambient temperatures compared with warmer regions. Our analysis adds a unique cross-biome perspective on the temperature response of soil respiration, information critical to improving our mechanistic understanding of how soil carbon dynamics change with climatic warming.

Original language	English
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	113
Issue number	48
Pages (from-to)	13797–13802
ISSN	0027-8424
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1605365113
Publication status	Published - 29 Nov 2016

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Carey, J. C., Tang, J., Templer, P. H., Kroeger, K. D., Crowther, T. W., Burton, A. J., Dukes, J. S., Emmett, B., Frey, S. D., Heskel, M. A., Jiang, L., Machmuller, M. B., Mohan, J., Panetta, A. M., Reich, P. B., Reinsch, S., Wang, X., Allison, S. D., Bamminger, C., ... Tietema, A. (2016). Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 113(48), 13797–13802. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1605365113

Carey, JC, Tang, J, Templer, PH, Kroeger, KD, Crowther, TW, Burton, AJ, Dukes, JS, Emmett, B, Frey, SD, Heskel, MA, Jiang, L, Machmuller, MB, Mohan, J, Panetta, AM, Reich, PB, Reinsch, S, Wang, X, Allison, SD, Bamminger, C, Bridgham, S, Collins, SL, de Dato, G, Eddy, WC, Enquist, BJ, Estiarte, M, Harte, J, Henderson, A, Johnson, BR, Larsen, KS, Luo, Y, Marhan, S, Melillo, JM, Peñuelas, J, Pfeifer-Meister, L, Poll, C, Rastetter, E, Reinmann, AB, Reynolds, LL, Schmidt, IK, Shaver, GR, Strong, AL, Suseela, V & Tietema, A 2016, 'Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 113, no. 48, pp. 13797–13802. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1605365113

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title = "Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming",

abstract = "The respiratory release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from soil is a major yet poorly understood flux in the global carbon cycle. Climatic warming is hypothesized to increase rates of soil respiration, potentially fueling further increases in global temperatures. However, despite considerable scientific attention in recent decades, the overall response of soil respiration to anticipated climatic warming remains unclear. We synthesize the largest global dataset to date of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements, totaling >3,800 observations representing 27 temperature manipulation studies, spanning nine biomes and over 2 decades of warming. Our analysis reveals no significant differences in the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration between control and warmed plots in all biomes, with the exception of deserts and boreal forests. Thus, our data provide limited evidence of acclimation of soil respiration to experimental warming in several major biome types, contrary to the results from multiple single-site studies. Moreover, across all nondesert biomes, respiration rates with and without experimental warming follow a Gaussian response, increasing with soil temperature up to a threshold of ∼25 °C, above which respiration rates decrease with further increases in temperature. This consistent decrease in temperature sensitivity at higher temperatures demonstrates that rising global temperatures may result in regionally variable responses in soil respiration, with colder climates being considerably more responsive to increased ambient temperatures compared with warmer regions. Our analysis adds a unique cross-biome perspective on the temperature response of soil respiration, information critical to improving our mechanistic understanding of how soil carbon dynamics change with climatic warming.",

author = "Carey, {Joanna C} and Jianwu Tang and Templer, {Pamela H} and Kroeger, {Kevin D} and Crowther, {Thomas W} and Burton, {Andrew J} and Dukes, {Jeffrey S} and Bridget Emmett and Frey, {Serita D} and Heskel, {Mary A} and Lifen Jiang and Machmuller, {Megan B} and Jacqueline Mohan and Panetta, {Anne Marie} and Reich, {Peter B} and Sabine Reinsch and Xin Wang and Allison, {Steven D} and Chris Bamminger and Scott Bridgham and Collins, {Scott L} and {de Dato}, Giovanbattista and Eddy, {William C} and Enquist, {Brian J} and Marc Estiarte and John Harte and Amanda Henderson and Johnson, {Bart R} and Larsen, {Klaus Steenberg} and Yiqi Luo and Sven Marhan and Melillo, {Jerry M} and Josep Pe{\~n}uelas and Laurel Pfeifer-Meister and Christian Poll and Edward Rastetter and Reinmann, {Andrew B} and Reynolds, {Lorien L} and Schmidt, {Inger Kappel} and Shaver, {Gaius R} and Strong, {Aaron L} and Vidya Suseela and Albert Tietema",

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T1 - Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming

AU - Carey, Joanna C

AU - Tang, Jianwu

AU - Templer, Pamela H

AU - Kroeger, Kevin D

AU - Crowther, Thomas W

AU - Burton, Andrew J

AU - Dukes, Jeffrey S

AU - Emmett, Bridget

AU - Frey, Serita D

AU - Heskel, Mary A

AU - Jiang, Lifen

AU - Machmuller, Megan B

AU - Mohan, Jacqueline

AU - Panetta, Anne Marie

AU - Reich, Peter B

AU - Reinsch, Sabine

AU - Wang, Xin

AU - Allison, Steven D

AU - Bamminger, Chris

AU - Bridgham, Scott

AU - Collins, Scott L

AU - de Dato, Giovanbattista

AU - Eddy, William C

AU - Enquist, Brian J

AU - Estiarte, Marc

AU - Harte, John

AU - Henderson, Amanda

AU - Johnson, Bart R

AU - Larsen, Klaus Steenberg

AU - Luo, Yiqi

AU - Marhan, Sven

AU - Melillo, Jerry M

AU - Peñuelas, Josep

AU - Pfeifer-Meister, Laurel

AU - Poll, Christian

AU - Rastetter, Edward

AU - Reinmann, Andrew B

AU - Reynolds, Lorien L

AU - Schmidt, Inger Kappel

AU - Shaver, Gaius R

AU - Strong, Aaron L

AU - Suseela, Vidya

AU - Tietema, Albert

PY - 2016/11/29

Y1 - 2016/11/29

N2 - The respiratory release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from soil is a major yet poorly understood flux in the global carbon cycle. Climatic warming is hypothesized to increase rates of soil respiration, potentially fueling further increases in global temperatures. However, despite considerable scientific attention in recent decades, the overall response of soil respiration to anticipated climatic warming remains unclear. We synthesize the largest global dataset to date of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements, totaling >3,800 observations representing 27 temperature manipulation studies, spanning nine biomes and over 2 decades of warming. Our analysis reveals no significant differences in the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration between control and warmed plots in all biomes, with the exception of deserts and boreal forests. Thus, our data provide limited evidence of acclimation of soil respiration to experimental warming in several major biome types, contrary to the results from multiple single-site studies. Moreover, across all nondesert biomes, respiration rates with and without experimental warming follow a Gaussian response, increasing with soil temperature up to a threshold of ∼25 °C, above which respiration rates decrease with further increases in temperature. This consistent decrease in temperature sensitivity at higher temperatures demonstrates that rising global temperatures may result in regionally variable responses in soil respiration, with colder climates being considerably more responsive to increased ambient temperatures compared with warmer regions. Our analysis adds a unique cross-biome perspective on the temperature response of soil respiration, information critical to improving our mechanistic understanding of how soil carbon dynamics change with climatic warming.

AB - The respiratory release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from soil is a major yet poorly understood flux in the global carbon cycle. Climatic warming is hypothesized to increase rates of soil respiration, potentially fueling further increases in global temperatures. However, despite considerable scientific attention in recent decades, the overall response of soil respiration to anticipated climatic warming remains unclear. We synthesize the largest global dataset to date of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements, totaling >3,800 observations representing 27 temperature manipulation studies, spanning nine biomes and over 2 decades of warming. Our analysis reveals no significant differences in the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration between control and warmed plots in all biomes, with the exception of deserts and boreal forests. Thus, our data provide limited evidence of acclimation of soil respiration to experimental warming in several major biome types, contrary to the results from multiple single-site studies. Moreover, across all nondesert biomes, respiration rates with and without experimental warming follow a Gaussian response, increasing with soil temperature up to a threshold of ∼25 °C, above which respiration rates decrease with further increases in temperature. This consistent decrease in temperature sensitivity at higher temperatures demonstrates that rising global temperatures may result in regionally variable responses in soil respiration, with colder climates being considerably more responsive to increased ambient temperatures compared with warmer regions. Our analysis adds a unique cross-biome perspective on the temperature response of soil respiration, information critical to improving our mechanistic understanding of how soil carbon dynamics change with climatic warming.

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1605365113

DO - 10.1073/pnas.1605365113

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 27849609

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 113

SP - 13797

EP - 13802

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 48

ER -

Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming

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