@article{KnoblauchBeerLiebneretal.2018, author = {Knoblauch, Christian and Beer, Christian and Liebner, Susanne and Grigoriev, Mikhail N. and Pfeiffer, Eva-Maria}, title = {Methane production as key to the greenhouse gas budget of thawing permafrost}, series = {Nature climate change}, volume = {8}, journal = {Nature climate change}, number = {4}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {1758-678X}, doi = {10.1038/s41558-018-0095-z}, pages = {309 -- 312}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Permafrost thaw liberates frozen organic carbon, which is decomposed into carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The release of these greenhouse gases (GHGs) forms a positive feedback to atmospheric CO2 and CH4 concentrations and accelerates climate change(1,2). Current studies report a minor importance of CH4 production in water-saturated (anoxic) permafrost soils(3-6) and a stronger permafrost carbon-climate feedback from drained (oxic) soils(1,7). Here we show through seven-year laboratory incubations that equal amounts of CO2 and CH4 are formed in thawing permafrost under anoxic conditions after stable CH4-producing microbial communities have established. Less permafrost carbon was mineralized under anoxic conditions but more CO2-carbon equivalents (CO2Ce) were formed than under oxic conditions when the higher global warming potential (GWP) of CH4 is taken into account(8). A model of organic carbon decomposition, calibrated with the observed decomposition data, predicts a higher loss of permafrost carbon under oxic conditions (113 +/- 58 g CO2-C kgC(-1) (kgC, kilograms of carbon)) by 2100, but a twice as high production of CO2-Ce (241 +/- 138 g CO2-Ce kgC(-1)) under anoxic conditions. These findings challenge the view of a stronger permafrost carbon-climate feedback from drained soils1,7 and emphasize the importance of CH4 production in thawing permafrost on climate-relevant timescales.}, language = {en} } @article{ReichsteinBahnCiaisetal.2013, author = {Reichstein, Markus and Bahn, Michael and Ciais, Philippe and Frank, Dorothea and Mahecha, Miguel D. and Seneviratne, Sonia I. and Zscheischler, Jakob and Beer, Christian and Buchmann, Nina and Frank, David C. and Papale, Dario and Rammig, Anja and Smith, Pete and Thonicke, Kirsten and van der Velde, Marijn and Vicca, Sara and Walz, Ariane and Wattenbach, Martin}, title = {Climate extremes and the carbon cycle}, series = {Nature : the international weekly journal of science}, volume = {500}, journal = {Nature : the international weekly journal of science}, number = {7462}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {0028-0836}, doi = {10.1038/nature12350}, pages = {287 -- 295}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The terrestrial biosphere is a key component of the global carbon cycle and its carbon balance is strongly influenced by climate. Continuing environmental changes are thought to increase global terrestrial carbon uptake. But evidence is mounting that climate extremes such as droughts or storms can lead to a decrease in regional ecosystem carbon stocks and therefore have the potential to negate an expected increase in terrestrial carbon uptake. Here we explore the mechanisms and impacts of climate extremes on the terrestrial carbon cycle, and propose a pathway to improve our understanding of present and future impacts of climate extremes on the terrestrial carbon budget.}, language = {en} }