Experimental warming accelerates positive soil priming in a temperate grassland ecosystem

Xuanyu Tao; Zhifeng Yang; Jiajie Feng; Siyang Jian; Yunfeng Yang; Colin T Bates; Gangsheng Wang; Xue Guo; Daliang Ning; Megan L Kempher; Xiao Jun A Liu; Yang Ouyang; Shun Han; Linwei Wu; Yufei Zeng; Jialiang Kuang; Ya Zhang; Xishu Zhou; Zheng Shi; Wei Qin; Jianjun Wang; Mary K Firestone; James M Tiedje; Jizhong Zhou

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-45277-0

Experimental warming accelerates positive soil priming in a temperate grassland ecosystem

Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 8;15(1):1178. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45277-0.

Authors

Xuanyu Tao^#^{1

2}, Zhifeng Yang^#^{1

2}, Jiajie Feng^#^{1

2}, Siyang Jian^#^{1

2}, Yunfeng Yang³, Colin T Bates^{1

2}, Gangsheng Wang⁴, Xue Guo^{1

2

5}, Daliang Ning^{1

2}, Megan L Kempher^{1

2}, Xiao Jun A Liu^{1

2}, Yang Ouyang^{1

2}, Shun Han^{1

2}, Linwei Wu^{1

2}, Yufei Zeng⁵, Jialiang Kuang^{1

2}, Ya Zhang^{1

2}, Xishu Zhou^{1

2}, Zheng Shi^{1

2}, Wei Qin^{1

2}, Jianjun Wang⁶, Mary K Firestone^{7

8}, James M Tiedje⁹, Jizhong Zhou^{10

11

12

13

14}

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
² School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
³ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China. yangyf@tsinghua.edu.cn.
⁴ Institute for Water-Carbon Cycles and Carbon Neutrality, and State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, 430072, Wuhan, China.
⁵ State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academic of Sciences, 210008, Nanjing, China.
⁷ Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, CA, 94720, USA.
⁸ Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
⁹ Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
¹⁰ Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA. jzhou@ou.edu.
¹¹ School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA. jzhou@ou.edu.
¹² Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA. jzhou@ou.edu.
¹³ School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA. jzhou@ou.edu.
¹⁴ School of Computer Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA. jzhou@ou.edu.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Unravelling biosphere feedback mechanisms is crucial for predicting the impacts of global warming. Soil priming, an effect of fresh plant-derived carbon (C) on native soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition, is a key feedback mechanism that could release large amounts of soil C into the atmosphere. However, the impacts of climate warming on soil priming remain elusive. Here, we show that experimental warming accelerates soil priming by 12.7% in a temperate grassland. Warming alters bacterial communities, with 38% of unique active phylotypes detected under warming. The functional genes essential for soil C decomposition are also stimulated, which could be linked to priming effects. We incorporate lab-derived information into an ecosystem model showing that model parameter uncertainty can be reduced by 32-37%. Model simulations from 2010 to 2016 indicate an increase in soil C decomposition under warming, with a 9.1% rise in priming-induced CO₂ emissions. If our findings can be generalized to other ecosystems over an extended period of time, soil priming could play an important role in terrestrial C cycle feedbacks and climate change.

MeSH terms

Carbon
Climate Change
Ecosystem*
Grassland*
Soil

Substances

Soil
Carbon

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding