Small-scale spatial patterns of soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks in permafrost-affected soils of northern Siberia

Abstract

The vulnerability of soil organic matter (SOM) sequestered in permafrost-affected soils to climate change plays one of the key roles in the global carbon (C) cycle. However, it still remains unclear how changing soil and site-specific factors, associated with the changing depth of the permafrost table due to thawing, influence the spatial distribution and variability of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (N) stocks in high-latitude mineral soils.The relationships between the spatial variation of SOC and N stocks (0–30 cm) and active layer (AL) thickness, thickness of the organic layer (OL), soil acidity, Al and Fe hydroxides as well as plant- and microbial-derived C inputs were studied using ordinary statistics and geostatistics within six landscape patches (16 m2) in the Siberian forest-tundra ecotone underlain by warm and discontinuous permafrost.At deeper permafrost table, SOC and N stocks (0–30 cm) were lower and, according to the semivariogram analysis, an overall homogenization of SOC and N distribution at the analyzed scale occurred. Total N and SOC stocks were spatially independent from root-derived organic matter distribution (i.e. the concentration of suberin-derived monomers) at shallow AL patches, whereas there was a significant positive spatial correlation within deep AL and non-permafrost soils. Hence, the development of root systems and an increase in rooting depth, leading to “hot spots” of SOM accumulation at intensively rooted soil patches, was observed as a result of deeper AL. Total N and SOC stocks within deeper AL and non-permafrost subsoils were also positively spatially correlated with the concentration of Fe and Al hydroxides, demonstrating the importance of organo-mineral associations for SOM stabilization in soils with lower permafrost table. This study confirmed that deepening of the AL in boreal forest ecosystems may lead to an overall homogenization of SOM distribution and simultaneous development of distinct mechanisms of SOM accumulation and stabilization.