Roots and Associated Fungi Drive Long-Term Carbon Sequestration in Boreal Forest

Summary, in English

Boreal forest soils function as a terrestrial net sink in the global carbon cycle. The prevailing dogma has focused on aboveground plant litter as a principal source of soil organic matter. Using C-14 bomb-carbon modeling, we show that 50 to 70% of stored carbon in a chronosequence of boreal forested islands derives from roots and root-associated microorganisms. Fungal biomarkers indicate impaired degradation and preservation of fungal residues in late successional forests. Furthermore, 454 pyrosequencing of molecular barcodes, in conjunction with stable isotope analyses, highlights root-associated fungi as important regulators of ecosystem carbon dynamics. Our results suggest an alternative mechanism for the accumulation of organic matter in boreal forests during succession in the long-term absence of disturbance.

• Författare: K. E. Clemmensen; Adam Bahr; O. Ovaskainen; A. Dahlberg; A. Ekblad; Håkan Wallander; J. Stenlid; R. D. Finlay; D. A. Wardle; B. D. Lindahl
• Avdelning/ar: MEMEG; Mikrobiologisk ekologi; BECC: Biodiversity and Ecosystem services in a Changing Climate
• Publiceringsår: 2013
• Språk: Engelska
• Sidor: 1615-1618
• Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie: Science
• Volym: 339
• Issue: 6127
• Länkar: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1231923
• Dokumenttyp: Artikel i tidskrift
• Förlag: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• Ämne: Biological Sciences
• Status: Published
• Projekt: Ectomycorrhizal fungi and nutrient mobilisation
• Forskningsgrupp: Microbial Ecology
• ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt: ISSN: 1095-9203