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A Thermodynamic Analysis of Soil Ecosystem Development in Northern Wetlands

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Abstract

The Maximum Power Principle (MPP) — a theoretical construct that argues that systems develop to maximize energy throughput, or power — is the subject of few empirical studies. We used the MPP to explore the thermodynamic basis for microbial processes and greenhouse gas fluxes in high latitude peat soils. Increasing temperatures cause extensive areas of permafrost degradation, which can lead to wetland formation, though permafrost degradation and aggradation can be cyclical under the right conditions. Differential ecosystem responses to permafrost degradation offer an opportunity to use the unifying approach of thermodynamics. We used adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in peat soils as a soil-relevant proxy for power to test the MPP along a chronosequence of wetlands with time following permafrost degradation. We conducted soil incubation experiments and measured production rates of CO2, methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ATP. ATP production was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the young bog soils compared to the undisturbed permafrost bog soils; rates in the older bog soils were not different from either site. Our results suggest that power output increased following recovery from permafrost thaw. A unifying vantage point provided by thermodynamics may be useful in other investigations of wetland ecosystems with unpredictable responses to disturbance.

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Acknowledgments

EJC received support from the Graduate Student and Professional Association and the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University for sampling and travel. Additional support was provided by Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Program (NSF Grant No. 1027188). Support was also provided to DLC by the National Science Foundation through the Urban Sustainability Research Coordination Network (NSF Grant No. 1140070). ELS acknowledges support from NSF Grant No. 1123649. We thank the APEX team, Mark Waldrop for field and intellectual support, and Brian St. Clair for help with organic ion analyses. We thank two anonymous reviewers that provided comments that improved the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Eric J. Chapman

    Present address: Marine Science Center, University of New England, Biddeford, ME, 04005, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Eric J. Chapman

  2. School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Daniel L. Childers

  3. School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Everett L. Shock

  4. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA

    Everett L. Shock

  5. Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Merritt R. Turetsky

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  1. Eric J. Chapman
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Correspondence to Eric J. Chapman.

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Chapman, E.J., Childers, D.L., Shock, E.L. et al. A Thermodynamic Analysis of Soil Ecosystem Development in Northern Wetlands. Wetlands 36, 1143–1153 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-016-0833-9

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