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Didac Pascual

Doktorand

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Soil organic carbon storage in a mountain permafrost area of Central Asia (High Altai, Russia)

Författare

  • Didac Pascual
  • Peter Kuhry
  • Tatiana Raudina

Summary, in English

The thawing and subsequent decomposition of large stocks of soil organic carbon (SOC) currently stored in the northern circumpolar permafrost region are projected to result in a ‘positive’ feedback on global warming. The magnitude of this feedback can only be assessed with improved knowledge about the total size and geographic distribution of the permafrost SOC pool. This study investigates SOC storage in an under-sampled mountain permafrost area in the Russian High Altai. SOC stocks from 39 soil pits are upscaled using a GIS-based land cover classification. We found that the top 100 cm of soils in Aktru Valley and the adjacent Kuray Basin only holds on average 2.6 ± 0.6 kg C m−2 (95% confidence interval), of which only c. 1% is stored in permafrost. Global warming will result in an upward shift of alpine life zones, with new plant cover and soil development at higher elevations. As a result, this type of mountain permafrost area might act as a net C sink in the future, representing a ‘negative’ feedback on global warming.

Avdelning/ar

  • MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system
  • BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
  • Institutionen för naturgeografi och ekosystemvetenskap

Publiceringsår

2021

Språk

Engelska

Sidor

2022-2037

Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie

Ambio

Volym

50

Issue

11

Dokumenttyp

Artikel i tidskrift

Förlag

Springer

Ämne

  • Physical Geography
  • Climate Research

Nyckelord

  • Central Asia
  • Climate change impacts and feedbacks
  • Mountain permafrost
  • Soil organic carbon

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt

  • ISSN: 0044-7447