Comment on "The whole-soil carbon flux in response to warming"

Jing Xiao; Fangjian Yu; Wanying Zhu; Chenchao Xu; Kaihang Zhang; Yiqi Luo; James M Tiedje; Jizhong Zhou; Lei Cheng

doi:10.1126/science.aao0218

Comment on "The whole-soil carbon flux in response to warming"

Science. 2018 Feb 23;359(6378):eaao0218. doi: 10.1126/science.aao0218.

Authors

Jing Xiao¹, Fangjian Yu¹, Wanying Zhu¹, Chenchao Xu¹, Kaihang Zhang¹, Yiqi Luo², James M Tiedje³, Jizhong Zhou^{2

4}, Lei Cheng⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
² Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.
³ Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
⁴ Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.
⁵ College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. lcheng@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 29472453
DOI: 10.1126/science.aao0218

Abstract

In a compelling study, Hicks Pries et al (Reports, 31 March 2017, p. 1420) showed that 4°C warming enhanced soil CO₂ production in the 1-meter soil profile, with all soil depths displaying similar temperature sensitivity (Q₁₀). We argue that some caveats can be identified in their experimental approach and analysis, and that these critically undermine their conclusions and hence their claim that the strength of feedback between the whole-soil carbon and climate has been underestimated in terrestrial models.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Comment