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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1546
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1546
29 Apr 2025
 | 29 Apr 2025

Availability of labile carbon controls the temperature-dependent response of soil organic matter decomposition in alpine soils

Dario Püntener, Tatjana Carina Speckert, Yves-Alain Brügger, and Guido Lars Bruno Wiesenberg

Abstract. Soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition in alpine environments is influenced by multiple factors including temperature and substrate quality. As climate change will have an impact on both factors, it is essential to improve our knowledge, how, e.g., warming will modify carbon cycling in these environments to better prepare soil management for future conditions, even in alpine regions. This study investigates how warming and organic inputs affect SOM decomposition in alpine forest and pasture soils through a one-year laboratory incubation experiment. Soils were exposed to three temperatures (12.5 °C, 16.5 °C and 20.5 °C), with and without the addition of fresh grass litter. While higher temperatures accelerated decomposition, the availability of fresh organic matter played a more decisive role, especially in the lignin-rich forest soil. Without fresh litter, SOM decomposition was limited, suggesting that substrate availability in combination with temperature increase plays a greater role in microbial activity than temperature alone. The forest soil exhibited greater carbon loss than the pasture soil, most likely due to microbial communities that are adapted to lignin decomposition. These results suggest that rising temperatures combined with changes in vegetation and organic inputs could enhance SOM decomposition and potentially transform the alpine soils from carbon sinks to sources.

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Dario Püntener, Tatjana Carina Speckert, Yves-Alain Brügger, and Guido Lars Bruno Wiesenberg

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-1546', Anonymous Referee #1, 30 May 2025
    • AC1: 'Response to the comments of Anonymous Referee #1', Dario Püntener, 31 Jul 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-1546', Anonymous Referee #2, 16 Jun 2025
    • AC2: 'Response to the comments of Anonymous Referee #2', Dario Püntener, 31 Jul 2025
Dario Püntener, Tatjana Carina Speckert, Yves-Alain Brügger, and Guido Lars Bruno Wiesenberg
Dario Püntener, Tatjana Carina Speckert, Yves-Alain Brügger, and Guido Lars Bruno Wiesenberg

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Short summary
Alpine soils store much carbon but warming and changes in vegetation could reverse this by turning them into carbon sources. In a one-year laboratory study, we examined alpine forest and pasture soils and added fresh grass litter marked with a carbon tracer to track decomposition under different temperatures. Our findings reveal that fresh plant material drives soil breakdown more than temperature alone, offering new insights into how climate change may affect carbon storage in mountain regions.
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