Global warming will gradually increase the temperature of soils. Most models predict that increased soil temperature will allow fungi and bacteria to break down soil organic matter faster, releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
New research from the University of California – Irvine shows that, at least for dry soils of boreal spruce forests, rising temperatures cause fungi to dry out, reducing their rate of respiration. Instead of a feed-forward effect that increases greenhouse gas emissions, Steven Allison and Kathleen Treseder found that warming boreal soils decreased fungal respiration. Their work was published in Global Change Biology.
This does not remove all concerns about warming of forest soils. In areas of permafrost, where there is little microbial respiration, warming causes melting of the ice and accelerates microbial respiration.
Citation:
Allison, S. D., and K. K. Treseder. in press. Warming and drying suppress microbial activity and carbon cycling in boreal forest soils. Global Change Biology.
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