TY  - JOUR
A1  - Knoblauch, Christian
A1  - Beer, Christian
A1  - Liebner, Susanne
A1  - Grigoriev, Mikhail N.
A1  - Pfeiffer, Eva-Maria
T1  - Methane production as key to the greenhouse gas budget of thawing permafrost
JF  - Nature climate change
N2  - 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.
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0095-z
SN  - 1758-678X
SN  - 1758-6798
VL  - 8
IS  - 4
SP  - 309
EP  - 312
PB  - Nature Publ. Group
CY  - London
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Reichstein, Markus
A1  - Bahn, Michael
A1  - Ciais, Philippe
A1  - Frank, Dorothea
A1  - Mahecha, Miguel D.
A1  - Seneviratne, Sonia I.
A1  - Zscheischler, Jakob
A1  - Beer, Christian
A1  - Buchmann, Nina
A1  - Frank, David C.
A1  - Papale, Dario
A1  - Rammig, Anja
A1  - Smith, Pete
A1  - Thonicke, Kirsten
A1  - van der Velde, Marijn
A1  - Vicca, Sara
A1  - Walz, Ariane
A1  - Wattenbach, Martin
T1  - Climate extremes and the carbon cycle
JF  - Nature : the international weekly journal of science
N2  - 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.
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12350
SN  - 0028-0836
VL  - 500
IS  - 7462
SP  - 287
EP  - 295
PB  - Nature Publ. Group
CY  - London
ER  -