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The carbon quality-temperature hypothesis does not consistently predict temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter mineralization in soils from two manipulative ecosystem experiments

  • Biogeochemistry Letters
  • Published:
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Abstract

The temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition is a source of uncertainty in models of soil-climate feedbacks. However, empirical studies have given contradictory results concerning the temperature response of SOM fractions, even as the understanding of the chemical nature of SOM is evolving. The carbon-quality temperature (CQT) hypothesis states that more ‘recalcitrant’ SOM should have higher temperature sensitivity. Incubation studies have often shown a negative correlation between soil respiration rates and temperature sensitivity. However, there have been important exceptions to these results which challenge the assumption that older SOM is necessarily more chemically complex. We asked whether we would expect a universal relationship between temperature sensitivity and soil respiration given that SOM decomposition is influenced by factors other than chemical complexity. We examined temperature sensitivity in long-term incubations of four soils representing two biomes and two ecosystem-level manipulations. Soils from a manipulative climate experiment in Pacific Northwest grasslands demonstrated an increase in temperature sensitivity with incubation duration, but soil from a 20-year input manipulation study in a Northeastern forest showed no relationship of temperature sensitivity with either carbon depletion or incubation time. Furthermore, across all four soils, the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration was frequently inconsistent with indices of carbon quality and did not show a negative correlation with soil respiration rate. We conclude that the CQT hypothesis fails to universally capture the temperature sensitivity of SOM decomposition across environmental contexts, consistent with an emerging understanding of the multiplicity of factors that control soil carbon cycling.

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Acknowledgments

We thank The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM), and the Siskiyou Field Institute for site use for HOPS. Laurel Pfeifer-Meister, Timothy Tomaszewski, Maya Goklany, Hannah Wilson, Jess Suter, and Chelsea Little and numerous undergraduate volunteers assisted with site set-up, maintenance, and measurements. This research was partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research under award number DE-FG02-09ER604719 and the National Science Foundation MacroSystems Biology Program under award number EF-1340847. We thank Allegheny College for support of the Bousson Experimental Forest, and Sam Reese and numerous Allegheny students for field and laboratory assistance. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Lorien L. Reynolds & Kate Lajtha

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Allegheny College, Meadville, PA, 16335, USA

    Richard D. Bowden

  3. Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA

    Bart R. Johnson

  4. Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA

    Bart R. Johnson

  5. Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 9740, USA

    Scott D. Bridgham

Authors
  1. Lorien L. Reynolds
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  2. Kate Lajtha
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  3. Richard D. Bowden
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  4. Bart R. Johnson
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  5. Scott D. Bridgham
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Correspondence to Lorien L. Reynolds.

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Responsible Editor: Stuart Grandy.

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Reynolds, L.L., Lajtha, K., Bowden, R.D. et al. The carbon quality-temperature hypothesis does not consistently predict temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter mineralization in soils from two manipulative ecosystem experiments. Biogeochemistry 136, 249–260 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0384-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0384-z

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