SLU news

Plant roots increase carbon emission from permafrost soils

Published: 03 August 2020
A mountain under a blue sky, Photo.

A key uncertainty in climate projections is the amount of carbon emitted by thawing permafrost in the Arctic. Plant roots in soil stimulate microbial decomposition, a mechanism called the priming effect. An international research team shows that the priming effect alone can cause emission of 40 billion tonnes carbon from permafrost by 2100.

Permafrost is permanently frozen ground which stores as much carbon as there is in all plants on Earth and in the atmosphere together. The surface of the permafrost thaws in summer, allowing plant and soil life to thrive. When microorganisms breathe, they emit greenhouse gases.

Scientists have previously anticipated that rapidly rising temperatures will drive the emission of 50-100 billion ton permafrost carbon by 2100. On top of that, plant roots feed sugar to the microorganisms in the soil, which the microbes can use to break down more soil organic matter – the priming effect – resulting in even higher greenhouse gas emissions.

Read more about this study that is co-authored by Eveline Krab and Sylvain Monteux  from the Department of Soil and Environment at SLU:


Contact

Eveline Krab

Associate Senior Lecturer at the Department of Soil and Environment, SLU

Telephone: 018-672470, 0725-115379
E-mail: eveline.krab@slu.se
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