Climate and Mechanisms of Soil Carbon Stabilization: Findings from Senior Thesis Research

A change in carbon residence times in soil has huge potential to alter global carbon cycling and atmospheric composition. Therefore, an understanding of how mechanisms of carbon stabilization respond to ecosystem changes is essential for accurately modeling global climate change. Soils as whole ecosystems and specific soil biotic conditions are known to respond to changes in climate. However, the response of specific mechanisms of carbon stabilization to a change in climate is less known. In her undergraduate senior thesis (2012), Anna Bischoff identified how the specific stabilization mechanisms of relative recalcitrance, occlusion in aggregates, and mineral binding are affected by 3 different incubation climates.

Speaker: Anna Bischoff, Point Reyes National Seashore Association