Soil carbon cycling proxies: Understanding their critical role in predicting climate change feedbacks

Vanessa L. Bailey, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Kristen DeAngelis, A. Stuart Grandy, Christine V. Hawkes, Kate Heckman, Kate Lajtha, Richard P. Phillips, Benjamin N. Sulman, Katherine E.O. Todd-Brown, Matthew D. Wallenstein

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debate

69 Scopus citations

Abstract

The complexity of processes and interactions that drive soil C dynamics necessitate the use of proxy variables to represent soil characteristics that cannot be directly measured (correlative proxies), or that aggregate information about multiple soil characteristics into one variable (integrative proxies). These proxies have proven useful for understanding the soil C cycle, which is highly variable in both space and time, and are now being used to make predictions of the fate and persistence of C under future climate scenarios. However, the C pools and processes that proxies represent must be thoughtfully considered in order to minimize uncertainties in empirical understanding. This is necessary to capture the full value of a proxy in model parameters and in model outcomes. Here, we provide specific examples of proxy variables that could improve decision-making, and modeling skill, while also encouraging continued work on their mechanistic underpinnings. We explore the use of three common soil proxies used to study soil C cycling: metabolic quotient, clay content, and physical fractionation. We also consider how emerging data types, such as genome-sequence data, can serve as proxies for microbial community activities. By examining some broad assumptions in soil C cycling with the proxies already in use, we can develop new hypotheses and specify criteria for new and needed proxies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)895-905
Number of pages11
JournalGlobal Change Biology
Volume24
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2018
Externally publishedYes

Funding

This paper was the product of a working group assembled at a workshop sponsored by the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group via the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program under the auspices of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, “Celebrating the 2015 International Decade of Soil – Understanding Soil’s Resilience and Vulnerability,” Boulder, CO, March 2016. VLB, BBL, RP, and KD were supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research as part of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Sciences Program. KL was supported by NSF DEB-1257032. KTB was supported by Linus Pauling Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship program, part of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Battelle Memorial Institute under contract DE-AC05-76RL01830. This paper was the product of a working group assembled at a workshop sponsored by the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group via the U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Program under the auspices of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, “Celebrating the 2015 International Decade of Soil – Understanding Soil's Resilience and Vulnerability,” Boulder, CO, March 2016. VLB, BBL, RP, and KD were supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research as part of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Sciences Program. KL was supported by NSF DEB-1257032. KTB was supported by Linus Pauling Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship program, part of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Battelle Memorial Institute under contract DE-AC05-76RL01830.

FundersFunder number
International Decade of Soil – Understanding Soil’s Resilience and Vulnerability
National Science Foundation
U.S. Department of Energy
Division of Environmental BiologyDEB-1257032
Battelle
Office of Science
Biological and Environmental ResearchDE-AC05-76RL01830
Laboratory Directed Research and Development
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

    Keywords

    • CUE
    • clay
    • models
    • soil carbon
    • soil organic matter

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