Tundra ecosystems hold vast amounts of carbon, which is projected to be released into the atmosphere under climate warming. Our group contributed to this important and alarming new paper in Nature, led by researchers from Umeå University in Sweden. Using carbon flux data collected inside and outside open-top chambers (OTCs), we show that ecosystem respiration increased under warming, due to both microbial and plant-related changes. The relative impacts are influenced by other drivers such as the amount of nitrogen in the system, highlighting the importance of local soil conditions.
Read more about our contributions here: Tundra might turn into a carbon source by global warming (uib.no)
and find the full article in Nature here:
Maes, S.L., Dietrich, J., Midolo, G. et al. Environmental drivers of increased ecosystem respiration in a warming tundra. Nature (2024).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07274-7