Legacy Effects of Warming on Permafrost Carbon Release

Abstract:

Warming in arctic tundra may thaw currently frozen upper permafrost layers, potentially releasing organic carbon (C) that was preserved by cold conditions for hundreds or thousands of years. Apart from the direct control of temperature on permafrost carbon dioxide (CO₂) production, warming may alter permafrost CO₂ production rates through changes in either permafrost C quality or changes in microbial communities. We incubated exogenous permafrost cores in four different warming experiments in NE-Greenland. The experiments were located in both Salix- and Cassiope-dominated sub-sites and were established in 2004 (old site) and 2007 (new site). Permafrost cores were buried as “open incubators” (free vertical water flow) at both 5-10cm depth (shallow) and 15-20cm depth (deep) in both non-manipulated (control) and warmed plots (warmed) and incubated for 2 years in the field. After retrieval from the field, permafrost cores were kept undisturbed in a lab fridge for three months, after which sub-samples were incubated at 5°C in glass vials. Permafrost CO₂ production rates were subsequently measured after one week, four weeks and three months incubation in the lab. We measured the legacy effects of in situ conditions, including experimental warming in the field, on permafrost respiration under controlled laboratory conditions. We assessed the effects of plot type, vegetation type, experiment age, and incubation depth on permafrost CO₂ production rates. After 3 months incubation in the lab, we measured a positive effect of warming on permafrost CO₂ production rates for shallow-incubated cores, but not for deep-incubated cores. Production rates of CO₂ were significantly higher for cores incubated in the old site compared to the new site. Our results suggest that warming may not only directly stimulate permafrost C release, but also indirectly through the effects of infiltrating water, nutrients and microbes from near-surface soil layers.