Roots and Associated Fungi Drive Long-Term Carbon Sequestration in Boreal Forest
Abstract
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 14C 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.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- March 2013
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.1231923
- Bibcode:
- 2013Sci...339.1615C
- Keywords:
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- ECOLOGY Botany, Ecology, Sociology