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Evidence that decomposition rates of organic carbon in mineral soil do not vary with temperature

Nature volume 404, pages 858–861 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

It has been suggested that increases in temperature can accelerate the decomposition of organic carbon contained in forest mineral soil (Cs), and, therefore, that global warming should increase the release of soil organic carbon to the atmosphere1,2,3,4,5,6. These predictions assume, however, that decay constants can be accurately derived from short-term laboratory incubations of soil or that in situ incubations of fresh litter accurately represent the temperature sensitivity of Cs decomposition. But our limited understanding of the biophysical factors that control Cs decomposition rates, and observations of only minor increases in Cs decomposition rate with temperature in longer-term forest soil heating experiments7,8,9,10,11,12 and in latitudinal comparisons of Cs decomposition rates13,14,15 bring these predictions into question. Here we have compiled Cs decomposition data from 82 sites on five continents. We found that Cs decomposition rates were remarkably constant across a global-scale gradient in mean annual temperature. These data suggest that Cs decomposition rates for forest soils are not controlled by temperature limitations to microbial activity, and that increased temperature alone will not stimulate the decomposition of forest-derived carbon in mineral soil.

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Figure 1: Relationship between turnover time for mineral soil carbon and mean annual temperature for method 1 studies.
Figure 2: Relationship between observed or modelled Cs turnover time and incubation temperature for incubated forest soils.
Figure 3: Relationship between Cs mass loss and time (in years) since conversion of vegetation type.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Hubbard, D. Binkley, R. Waring, S. Hart, S. Trumbore, I. Døckersmith, R. Sanford Jr and M. Bashkin for comments on earlier versions of this manuscript, and R. King for help with statistics. This work was supported by the US National Science Foundation and the USDA Forest Service.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1910 East-West Road, Honolulu, 96822, Hawaii, USA

    Christian P. Giardina

  2. United States Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 240 West Prospect Street, Fort Collins, 80526, Colorado, USA

    Michael G. Ryan

  3. Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 80523, Colorado, USA

    Michael G. Ryan

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  1. Christian P. Giardina
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Correspondence to Christian P. Giardina.

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Giardina, C., Ryan, M. Evidence that decomposition rates of organic carbon in mineral soil do not vary with temperature. Nature 404, 858–861 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35009076

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