Topic
Carbon cycle research, explained
10 open-access carbon cycle studies, each with a flashcard deck and a quiz.
- Plant diversity builds soil carbon via microbes
Higher plant species richness raises soil organic carbon by boosting microbial growth, biomass, and fungal necromass, not carbon-use efficiency.
- Shrubs and trees empty subarctic soil carbon
At a Swedish subarctic treeline, shrub and birch plots stored far less soil organic carbon than nearby heaths and respired that carbon faster, implying woody expansion can accelerate soil C loss.
- Shrubs help warming unlock ancient peat carbon
Vascular plants raised peatland respiration 145% vs bare peat; warming increased fluxes 111% on bare and 63% with dwarf-shrubs and shifted 14C toward older carbon where shrubs were present.
- Hydrophilic freshwater DOM biodegrades fastest
Across a Swedish stream and two lakes, the most water-loving DOM fractions lost 12–25% of DOC in 150 days versus 6–15% for hydrophobic fractions.
- Arctic food-web carbon is going isotopically light
Across 17 Arctic regions, water-column POC δ13C fell 0.149‰ per year—far faster than DIC/CO2 (0.011‰/yr)—and seal and whale tissues tracked the decline.
- Canopy nitrogen and tree carbon uptake
Canopy-applied 15N is recovered aboveground about three times more than soil-applied N.
- As acid rain fades, climate steers water browning
DOC rose at 383 of 426 northern sites since 1990; early increases tracked falling sulfate, while later increases are nearly half climate-driven.
- Dark lakes change how microbes eat land carbon
In a dark Ontario lake, more aromatic terrestrial organic matter lowered bacterial production and slightly raised CO2.
- Warm soils change microbes, not Q10 of respiration
Along a >31°C geothermal gradient in New Zealand, bacterial and fungal communities shifted but MMRT temperature-sensitivity of soil respiration showed no thermal adaptation.
- Amazon forest carbon is highly seasonal
An Amazon forest stored about four times more carbon in the dry season than the wet season.