356-32 The Quantity and Quality of Soil Organic Matter In a Sub-Arctic Cryosol.



Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Henry Gonzalez Convention Center, Hall C, Street Level

Amanda Diochon, Adam Gillespie, Charles Tarnocai and Edward Gregorich, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Soils in the circumpolar permafrost zone are estimated to contain 50% (1672 Pg C) of global belowground organic carbon (OC) stores.  Predicted warming of up to 7-8º C in permafrost areas by the end of the 21st century will increase rates of mineralization of soil organic matter (SOM) but the quantity and quality of SOM in the sub-Arctic is poorly known.  In this exploratory investigation, we characterize the quantity and quality of SOM in different genetic horizons in three pedons sampled near Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada using chemical (sequential cold- and hot-water extraction) and biological (100-d bioassay for mineralizable C and N) methods.  Our findings indicate that a significant proportion of the C and N pool is mineralizable.
See more from this Division: S03 Soil Biology & Biochemistry
See more from this Session: General Soil Biology & Biochemistry: II