Deep in the Sierra Nevada critical zone
Saprock represents a large terrestrial organic carbon stock
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15548859 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kimber Moreland (0000-0002-5155-3348, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, corresponding author), Zhiyuan Tian (0000-0003-1740-117X, University of California, Davis), Asmeret Asefaw Berhe (0000-0002-6986-7943, University of California, Merced), Karis J McFarlane (0000-0001-6390-7863, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), Peter Hartsough (0000-0001-7888-8028, University of California, Davis), Stephen C Hart (0000-0002-9023-6943, University of California, Merced), Roger C Bales (0000-0002-0811-8535, University of California, Merced), Roger Bales, Anthony Debons (0000-0003-1499-511X, University of California, Davis), Anthony T O’Geen |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Pages | 124059-124059 |
| Publication date | 2021-11-23 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/ac3bfe |
| OpenAlex | W4200585977 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 59 |
Large uncertainty remains in the spatial distribution of deep soil organic carbon (OC) storage and how climate controls belowground OC. This research aims to quantify OC stocks, characterize soil OC age and chemical composition, and evaluate climatic impacts on OC storage from the soil surface through the deep critical zone to bedrock. These objectives were carried out at four sites along a bio-climosequence in the Sierra Nevada, California. On average, 74% of OC was stored below the A horizon, and up to 30% of OC was stored in saprock (friable weakly weathered bedrock). Radiocarbon, spectroscopic, and isotopic analyses revealed the coexistence of very old organic matter (OM) (mean radiocarbon age = 20 300 years) with relatively recent OM (mean radiocarbon age = 4800 years) and highly decomposed organic compounds with relatively less decomposed material in deep soil and saprock. This co-mingling of OM suggests OC is prone to both active cycling and long-term protection from degradation. In addition to having direct effects on OC cycling, climate indirectly controls deep OC storage through its impact on the degree of regolith weathering (e.g. thickening). Although deep OC concentrations are low relative to soil, thick saprock represents a large, previously unrealized OC pool
Bedrock · Carbon cycle · Ecosystem · Geochemistry · Geomorphology · Organic matter · Radiocarbon dating · Regolith · Soil carbon · Soil organic matter · Soil water · Total organic carbon · Weathering · Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics · Chemistry · Environmental Science · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Ecology · Environmental Chemistry · Geology · Paleontology · Soil Science
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |