Reconciling carbon quality with availability predicts temperature sensitivity of global soil carbon mineralization

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Abstract

Soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization is a key component of the global carbon cycle. Its temperature sensitivity Q10 (which is defined as the factor of change in mineralization with a 10 °C temperature increase) is crucial for understanding the carbon cycle-climate change feedback but remains uncertain. Here, we demonstrate the universal control of carbon quality-availability tradeoffs on Q10. When carbon availability is not limited, Q10 is controlled by carbon quality; otherwise, substrate availability controls Q10. A model driven by such quality-availability tradeoffs explains 97% of the spatiotemporal variability of Q10 in incubations of soils across the globe and predicts a global Q10 of 2.1 ± 0.4 (mean ± one SD) with higher Q10 in northern high-latitude regions. We further reveal that global Q10 is predominantly governed by the mineralization of high-quality carbon. The work provides a foundation for predicting SOC dynamics under climate and land use changes which may alter soil carbon quality and availability.

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APA

Zhang, S., Wang, M., Xiao, L., Guo, X., Zheng, J., Zhu, B., & Luo, Z. (2024). Reconciling carbon quality with availability predicts temperature sensitivity of global soil carbon mineralization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121(11). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313842121

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