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Climatic and landscape influences on soil moisture are primary determinants of soil carbon fluxes in seasonally snow-covered forest ecosystems

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Abstract

A changing climate has the potential to mobilize soil carbon, shifting seasonally snow-covered, forested ecosystems from carbon sinks to sources. To determine the sensitivity of soil carbon fluxes to changes in temperature and moisture, we quantified seasonal and spatial variability of soil carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes (N = 746) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in leachate (N = 260) in high-elevation, mixed conifer forests in Arizona and New Mexico. All sites have cold winters, warm summers, and bimodal soil moisture patterns associated with snowmelt and summer monsoon rainfall. We employed a state factor approach, quantifying how distal controls (parent material, regional climate, topography) interacted with proximal variability in soil temperature (−3 to 26 °C) and moisture (2–76 %) to influence carbon effluxes. Carbon loss was dominated by CO2 flux (250–1220 g C m−2 year−1) rather than leached DOC (7.0–9.4 g C m−2 year−1). Significant differences in mean growing season CO2 flux were associated with parent material and aspect; differences appear to be mediated by how these distal controls influence primarily moisture and secondarily temperature. Across all sites, a multiple linear regression model (MLR) relying on moisture and temperature best described growing season CO2 fluxes (r2 = 0.63, p < 0.001). During winter, the MLR describing soil CO2 flux (r2 = 0.98, p < 0.001) relied on distal factors including snow cover, clay content, and bulk carbon, all factors that influence liquid water content. Our findings highlight the importance of state factors in controlling soil respiration primarily through influencing spatial and temporal heterogeneity in soil moisture.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) awards to Jemez-Catalina (EAR 0724958 and 1331408), Reynolds Creek (EAR 1331872), Boulder Creek (EAR 0724960); the Department of Energy Award # DE-SC0006968; the National Science Foundation Award # EPS-0814387; NASA Award # NNX11AG91G, and the University of Arizona Water, Environmental, and Energy Solutions program through the Technology and Research Initiative Fund. We extend our gratitude to Tim Corley, Mary Kay Amistadi and Allison Peterson for their assistance and expertise in the laboratory, and to Dr. Tyson Swetnam, Dr. Ingo Heidbüchel, Dr. Erika Gallo, Dr. Adrian Harpold, and all who assisted with field work, data collection, and analyses. We also thank two anonymous reviewers and Dr. Melanie Fisk, Associate Editor, for valuable feedback and comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Clare M. Stielstra & Jennifer C. McIntosh

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA

    Kathleen A. Lohse

  3. Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Jon Chorover

  4. School of Geography & Development, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Greg A. Barron-Gafford

  5. B2 Earthscience, Biosphere 2, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Greg A. Barron-Gafford

  6. Department of Geology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA

    Julia N. Perdrial

  7. Department of Biological Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Marcy Litvak

  8. Department of Geography and INSTAAR, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    Holly R. Barnard

  9. Department of Geology/Geophysics, University of Utah, 115 So. 1460 East, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112-0102, USA

    Paul D. Brooks

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  1. Clare M. Stielstra
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Correspondence to Paul D. Brooks.

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Responsible Editor: Melany Fisk.

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Stielstra, C.M., Lohse, K.A., Chorover, J. et al. Climatic and landscape influences on soil moisture are primary determinants of soil carbon fluxes in seasonally snow-covered forest ecosystems. Biogeochemistry 123, 447–465 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-015-0078-3

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