Long-term in situ permafrost thaw effects on bacterial communities and potential aerobic respiration.

ABSTRACT: The decomposition of large stocks of soil organic carbon in thawing permafrost might depend on more than climate change-induced temperature increases: indirect effects of thawing via altered bacterial community structure (BCS) or rooting patterns are largely unexplored. We used a 10-year in situ permafrost thaw experiment and aerobic incubations to investigate alterations in BCS and potential respiration at different depths, and the extent to which they are related with each other and with root density. Active layer and permafrost BCS strongly differed, and the BCS in formerly frozen soils (below the natural thawfront) converged under induced deep thaw to strongly resemble the active layer BCS, possibly as a result of colonization by overlying microorganisms. Overall, respiration rates dec

SUBMITTER: Monteux S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6092332 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature