Microbial Dynamics in Recently Thawed High-Alpine Permafrost-Affected Soils.

Permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, is a major C sink storing approximately 1672 Pg C. Upon warming, cold-adapted organisms called ‘psychrophiles’ cause the release of greenhouse gases, including CO₂ and CH₄, via mineralization that accelerates changing climatic conditions. The Snowy Range Mountains within the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest located in southeast Wyoming contain all the required conditions for permafrost to exist. After initial field observations, permafrost was not found despite the presence of periglacial features and anecdotal evidence of recently frozen ground at the study site. This presents a unique opportunity to research an understudied realm within permafrost studies, the microbial ecology of recently thawed high-alpine permafrost soils. Within permafrost, there is high potential for the preservation of microbial life and biodiversity, and as permafrost melts, the potential for organisms that were once inactive to become active increases. Given the changing climatic conditions in the high alpine environments, the dynamics of soil microorganisms will be evaluated within a deep soil profile of recently thawed soils in the Snowy Range. In contrast to many soil microbial studies, digging deeper in the profile to evaluate microbial communities as a function of depth will provide researchers with a better idea of how thaw has affected microbial dynamics.