Collaborative Research: Aluminum Control of Organic Carbon Cycling in Temperate Forest Ecosystems

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AbstractTemperate forest ecosystems play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. This research seeks to identify mechanisms of carbon stabilization in temperate forest ecosystems of the western United States. Metal complexation and mineral adsorption are key processes controlling soil carbon stabilization. Aluminum, in particular, has been implicated as imposing significant control over soil carbon cycling, but the underlying mechanisms of stabilization are not well known. This study combines field-based sampling of soils from temperate forest ecosystems with controlled laboratory experimentation to elucidate how carbon, aluminum, the soil mineral assemblage and microbes interact to control the biodegradation of natural organic matter in forested ecosystems of the western U.S. Part of this research includes the development and refinement of new analytical tools and approaches for characterizing carbon-mineral-microbe interactions. This research will demonstrate and quantify the linkage between aluminum and soil carbon biogeochemistry in temperate forest ecosystems. This has significant ramifications for soil carbon cycling and its potential feedback to atmospheric CO2 levels and global climate change. In addition, data from this research will provide the information necessary to include soil mineral variables as parameters in models of regional ecosystem soil carbon dynamics, thereby enhancing estimations of regional soil carbon cycles.