AWESOME

Background and Objective

Global climate change is progressing and is particularly pronounced in northern latitudes. It is expected that the sensitive ecosystems of the taiga and tundra will respond strongly to warming. Due to the size of the northern landmass, even the smallest changes in soil carbon dynamics can have significant effects on atmospheric CO₂ concentration. The dynamics of soil carbon are closely linked to the nitrogen cycle, and both are significantly influenced by the interactions of plants, microorganisms, and the mineral phase of the soil. The aim of the project is to capture and understand these interactions along a warming gradient in a Canadian forest ecosystem, thereby explaining the rates of change of organic soil matter. The findings will also be compared with a similar experiment in Iceland to test the generalizability of the results.

Approach

The central experiment of the AWESOME project is located in the Yukon Territory of Canada at a hot spring that has been warming the surrounding forest soil for centuries. This provides the opportunity to study the effects of long-term soil warming up to a depth of 80 cm along a temperature gradient of approximately 10°C, with the kind support of the current landowner. A variety of soil and microbial properties, as well as other abiotic site factors (soil temperature, soil moisture), are monitored continuously across a total of 24 plots. One focus is on the characterization of organic soil matter and plant biomass, while another focus is on the characterization of the microbial community. Additionally, various incubation experiments will be conducted both in situ and in the laboratory to investigate the direct effects of warming on the activity and physiology of microorganisms, as well as the transformation and stabilization of organic matter in the soil.

Links and Downloads

https://forhot.is/

https://eclipsenordichotsprings.ca/