A positive feedback to climate change: The effect of temperature on the respiration of key wood-decomposing fungi does not decline with time

Oxford

2024

12 S.

Sonderdruck

40004787

Heterotrophic soil microorganisms are responsible for ~50% of the carbon dioxide released by respiration from the terrestrial biosphere each year. The respiratory re-sponse of soil microbial communities to warming, and the control mechanisms, re-mains uncertain, yet is critical to understanding the future land carbon (C)-climate feedback. Individuals of nine species of fungi decomposing wood were exposed to 90 days of cooling to evaluate the medium-term effect of temperature on respiration. Overall, the effect of temperature on respiration increased in the medium term, with no evidence of compensation. However, the increasing effect of temperature on res-piration was lost after correcting for changes in biomass. These results indicate that C loss through respiration of wood-decomposing fungi will increase beyond the direct effects of temperature on respiration, potentially promoting greater C losses from terrestrial ecosystems and a positive feedback to climate change.
Keywords: basidiomycetes, carbon cycle feedbacks, climate change, CO2, fungi, respiration, respiratory thermal response, temperature, wood decomposition