Changes in substrate availability drive carbon cycle response to chronic warming

Changes in biocrust cover drive carbon cycle responses to climate change in drylands.

Dryland ecosystems account for ca. 27% of global soil organic carbon (C) reserves, yet it is largely unknown how climate change will impact C cycling and storage in these areas. In drylands, soil C concentrates at the surface, making it particularly sensitive to the activity of organisms inhabiting the soil uppermost levels, such as communities dominated by lichens, mosses, bacteria and fungi (...

Consistent changes in the sea ice seasonal cycle in response to global warming

It has been widely noted that sea ice retreats faster in summer than winter in the Northern Hemisphere, both in observations and in projections from state-of-the-art climate models. Explanations for why the wintertime sea ice cover should be less sensitive to global warming have been proposed. However, in the Southern Hemisphere sea ice retreats fastest in winter in climate model projections. H...

Changes in global‐mean precipitation in response to warming, greenhouse gas forcing and black carbon

Changes in biogenic carbon flow in response to sea surface warming.

The pelagic ocean harbors one of the largest ecosystems on Earth. It is responsible for approximately half of global primary production, sustains worldwide fisheries, and plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. Ocean warming caused by anthropogenic climate change is already starting to impact the marine biota, with possible consequences for ocean productivity and ecosystem services....

Microbial mediation of carbon-cycle feedbacks to climate warming

Understanding the mechanisms of biospheric feedbacks to climate change is critical to project future climate warming1–3. Although microorganisms catalyse most biosphere processes related to fluxes of greenhouse gases, little is known about the microbial role in regulating future climate change4. Integrated metagenomic and functional analyses of a long-term warming experiment in a grassland ecos...