A global experiment suggests climate warming will not accelerate litter decomposition in streams but might reduce carbon sequestration.
نویسندگان
چکیده
The decomposition of plant litter is one of the most important ecosystem processes in the biosphere and is particularly sensitive to climate warming. Aquatic ecosystems are well suited to studying warming effects on decomposition because the otherwise confounding influence of moisture is constant. By using a latitudinal temperature gradient in an unprecedented global experiment in streams, we found that climate warming will likely hasten microbial litter decomposition and produce an equivalent decline in detritivore-mediated decomposition rates. As a result, overall decomposition rates should remain unchanged. Nevertheless, the process would be profoundly altered, because the shift in importance from detritivores to microbes in warm climates would likely increase CO(2) production and decrease the generation and sequestration of recalcitrant organic particles. In view of recent estimates showing that inland waters are a significant component of the global carbon cycle, this implies consequences for global biogeochemistry and a possible positive climate feedback.
منابع مشابه
Labile compounds in plant litter reduce the sensitivity of decomposition to warming and altered precipitation.
Together, climate and litter quality strongly regulate decomposition rates. Although these two factors and their interaction have been studied across species in continent-scale experiments, few researchers have studied how labile and recalcitrant compounds interact to influence decomposition, or the climate sensitivity of decomposition, within a litter type. Over a period of 3 yr, we studied th...
متن کاملWarming and Nitrogen Addition Increase Litter Decomposition in a Temperate Meadow Ecosystem
BACKGROUND Litter decomposition greatly influences soil structure, nutrient content and carbon sequestration, but how litter decomposition is affected by climate change is still not well understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS A field experiment with increased temperature and nitrogen (N) addition was established in April 2007 to examine the effects of experimental warming, N addition and ...
متن کاملGlobal negative vegetation feedback to climate warming responses of leaf litter decomposition rates in cold biomes.
Whether climate change will turn cold biomes from large long-term carbon sinks into sources is hotly debated because of the great potential for ecosystem-mediated feedbacks to global climate. Critical are the direction, magnitude and generality of climate responses of plant litter decomposition. Here, we present the first quantitative analysis of the major climate-change-related drivers of litt...
متن کاملLitter decomposition in grasslands of Central North America (US Great Plains)
One of the major concerns about global warming is the potential for an increase in decomposition and soil respiration rates, increasing CO2 emissions and creating a positive feedback between global warming and soil respiration. This is particularly important in ecosystems with large belowground biomass, such as grasslands where over 90% of the carbon is allocated belowground. A better understan...
متن کاملBiomass and carbon stock, carbon sequestration potential under selected land use systems in punjab
Carbon dioxide increase is attributed mainly combustion of fossil fuel and deforestation worldwide.1,2 The current atmospheric carbon concentration is 397.60 ppm.3 The CO2 concentration and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere have increased considerably and are set to rise further. Two major environmental issues of the world today’s are climate change and biodiversity. Increase in a...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
- Ecology letters
دوره 14 3 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2011