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Nitrogen
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Nitrogen Cycling in Permafrost Soils
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Nitrogen Cycling in Permafrost Soils

A special issue of Nitrogen (ISSN 2504-3129).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 15069

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Benjamin Abbott

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Interests: ecosystem ecology; ecohydrology; biogeochemistry; evolutionary biology; anthropocene
Dr. Christina Biasi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland
Interests: arctic soils; permafrost; carbon and nitrogen cycling; greenhouse gases; stable isotopes; soil microbes; soil ecology; wetlands
Prof. Dr. Pertti Martikainen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
Interests: biogeochemistry; greenhouse gases; permafrost soils; climate change; nutrient cycling; carbon sequestration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is causing the most profound changes in northern latitudes, where the temperature increase has been predicted to be largest. Warming and permafrost thawing in the Arctic, Antarctic, and alpine regions is one of the potential tipping points for climate breakdown because it increases the risk of releasing the vast carbon and nitrogen reserves stored in the permafrost soils in the form of the greenhouse gases. While carbon dynamics in permafrost regions have been widely studied, much less attention has been paid to the fact that the Arctic also holds significant amounts of nitrogen in its soils. Moreover, the fate of this N is largely unknown. Since nitrogen regulates key components of the carbon cycle and mineral N forms are the substrate for the strong greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, the study of the N cycle and pools in Arctic ecosystem should be a key research priority.

This Special Issue aims to advance our current understanding of nitrogen cycling and carbon–nitrogen interactions in permafrost soils. The Special Issue will include original articles, case studies, and critical review papers covering the following topics:

  • Nitrogen pools and fractions in permafrost soils;
  • Mineralization, nitrification and denitrification rates in permafrost soils;
  • Microbes and soil fauna involved in nitrogen cycling processes of permafrost soils;
  • Inputs of nitrogen (e.g., deposition, N load from animals, fertilization, N2 fixation) into permafrost soils;
  • Nitrogen uptake by Arctic, Antarctic, and alpine plants and interactions of carbon and nitrogen on primary productivity;
  • Nitrogen loss pathways to the atmosphere and aquatic ecosystems (e.g., N leaching, fire, gaseous losses);
  • Novel modelling and experimental approaches to investigate nitrogen cycling in permafrost soils;
  • Future predictions on permafrost nitrogen climate feedbacks.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Benjamin Abbott
Dr. Christina Biasi
Prof. Dr. Pertti Martikainen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nitrogen is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nitrogen
  • nitrogen cycling
  • permafrost soils
  • nitrous oxide
  • nitrogen leaching
  • nitrogen uptake by plants
  • nitrogen fixation
  • C/N interactions
  • climate feedbacks
  • microbial communities

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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0 pages, 2198 KiB  
Article
Rapid Permafrost Thaw Removes Nitrogen Limitation and Rises the Potential for N2O Emissions
by Rica Wegner, Claudia Fiencke, Christian Knoblauch, Lewis Sauerland and Christian Beer
Nitrogen 2022, 3(4), 608-627; https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen3040040 - 15 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2256
Abstract
Ice–rich Pleistocene permafrost deposits (Yedoma) store large amounts of nitrogen (N) and are susceptible to rapid thaw. In this study, we assess whether eroding Yedoma deposits are potential sources of N and gaseous carbon (C) losses. Therefore, we determined aerobic net ammonification and [...] Read more.
Ice–rich Pleistocene permafrost deposits (Yedoma) store large amounts of nitrogen (N) and are susceptible to rapid thaw. In this study, we assess whether eroding Yedoma deposits are potential sources of N and gaseous carbon (C) losses. Therefore, we determined aerobic net ammonification and nitrification, as well as anaerobic production of nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) in laboratory incubations. Samples were collected from non-vegetated and revegetated slump floor (SF) and thaw mound (TM) soils of a retrogressive thaw slump in the Lena River Delta of Eastern Siberia. We found high nitrate concentrations (up to 110 µg N (g DW)−1) within the growing season, a faster transformation of organic N to nitrate, and high N2O production (up to 217 ng N2O-N (g DW)−1 day−1) in revegetated thaw mounds. The slump floor was low in nitrate and did not produce N2O under anaerobic conditions, but produced the most CO2 (up to 7 µg CO2-C (g DW)−1 day−1) and CH4 (up to 65 ng CH4-C (g DW)−1 day−1). Nitrate additions showed that denitrification was substrate limited in the slump floor. Nitrate limitation was rather caused by field conditions (moisture, pH) than by microbial functional limitation since nitrification rates were positive under laboratory conditions. Our results emphasize the relevance of considering landscape processes, geomorphology, and soil origin in order to identify hotspots of high N availability, as well as C and N losses. High N availability is likely to have an impact on carbon cycling, but to what extent needs further investigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen Cycling in Permafrost Soils)
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23 pages, 10457 KiB  
Article
Thawing Permafrost as a Nitrogen Fertiliser: Implications for Climate Feedbacks
by Eleanor Burke, Sarah Chadburn and Chris Huntingford
Nitrogen 2022, 3(2), 353-375; https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen3020023 - 03 Jun 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2810
Abstract
Studies for the northern high latitudes suggest that, in the near term, increased vegetation uptake may offset permafrost carbon losses, but over longer time periods, permafrost carbon decomposition causes a net loss of carbon. Here, we assess the impact of a coupled carbon [...] Read more.
Studies for the northern high latitudes suggest that, in the near term, increased vegetation uptake may offset permafrost carbon losses, but over longer time periods, permafrost carbon decomposition causes a net loss of carbon. Here, we assess the impact of a coupled carbon and nitrogen cycle on the simulations of these carbon fluxes. We present results from JULES-IMOGEN—a global land surface model coupled to an intermediate complexity climate model with vertically resolved soil biogeochemistry. We quantify the impact of nitrogen fertilisation from thawing permafrost on the carbon cycle and compare it with the loss of permafrost carbon. Projections show that the additional fertilisation reduces the high latitude vegetation nitrogen limitation and causes an overall increase in vegetation carbon uptake. This is a few Petagrams of carbon (Pg C) by year 2100, increasing to up to 40 Pg C by year 2300 for the RCP8.5 concentration scenario and adds around 50% to the projected overall increase in vegetation carbon in that region. This nitrogen fertilisation results in a negative (stabilising) feedback on the global mean temperature, which could be equivalent in magnitude to the positive (destabilising) temperature feedback from the loss of permafrost carbon. This balance depends on the future scenario and initial permafrost carbon. JULES-IMOGEN describes one representation of the changes in Arctic carbon and nitrogen cycling in response to climate change. However there are uncertainties in the modelling framework, model parameterisation and missing processes which, when assessed, will provide a more complete picture of the balance between stabilising and destabilising feedbacks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen Cycling in Permafrost Soils)
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19 pages, 2721 KiB  
Article
Increased Arctic NO3− Availability as a Hydrogeomorphic Consequence of Permafrost Degradation and Landscape Drying
by Carli A. Arendt, Jeffrey M. Heikoop, Brent D. Newman, Cathy J. Wilson, Haruko Wainwright, Jitendra Kumar, Christian G. Andersen, Nathan A. Wales, Baptiste Dafflon, Jessica Cherry and Stan D. Wullschleger
Nitrogen 2022, 3(2), 314-332; https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen3020021 - 21 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2310
Abstract
Climate-driven permafrost thaw alters the strongly coupled carbon and nitrogen cycles within the Arctic tundra, influencing the availability of limiting nutrients including nitrate (NO3−). Researchers have identified two primary mechanisms that increase nitrogen and NO3− availability within permafrost [...] Read more.
Climate-driven permafrost thaw alters the strongly coupled carbon and nitrogen cycles within the Arctic tundra, influencing the availability of limiting nutrients including nitrate (NO3−). Researchers have identified two primary mechanisms that increase nitrogen and NO3− availability within permafrost soils: (1) the ‘frozen feast’, where previously frozen organic material becomes available as it thaws, and (2) ‘shrubification’, where expansion of nitrogen-fixing shrubs promotes increased soil nitrogen. Through the synthesis of original and previously published observational data, and the application of multiple geospatial approaches, this study investigates and highlights a third mechanism that increases NO3− availability: the hydrogeomorphic evolution of polygonal permafrost landscapes. Permafrost thaw drives changes in microtopography, increasing the drainage of topographic highs, thus increasing oxic conditions that promote NO3− production and accumulation. We extrapolate relationships between NO3− and soil moisture in elevated topographic features within our study area and the broader Alaskan Coastal Plain and investigate potential changes in NO3− availability in response to possible hydrogeomorphic evolution scenarios of permafrost landscapes. These approximations indicate that such changes could increase Arctic tundra NO3− availability by ~250–1000%. Thus, hydrogeomorphic changes that accompany continued permafrost degradation in polygonal permafrost landscapes will substantially increase soil pore water NO3− availability and boost future fertilization and productivity in the Arctic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen Cycling in Permafrost Soils)
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24 pages, 782 KiB  
Article
Simulating Increased Permafrost Peatland Plant Productivity in Response to Belowground Fertilisation Using the JULES Land Surface Model
by Rayanne Vitali, Sarah E. Chadburn, Frida Keuper, Anna B. Harper and Eleanor J. Burke
Nitrogen 2022, 3(2), 260-283; https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen3020018 - 05 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2048
Abstract
Several experimental studies have shown that climate-warming-induced permafrost thaw releases previously unavailable nitrogen which can lower nitrogen limitation, increase plant productivity, and counteract some of the carbon released from thawing permafrost. The net effect of this belowground fertilisation effect remains debated and is [...] Read more.
Several experimental studies have shown that climate-warming-induced permafrost thaw releases previously unavailable nitrogen which can lower nitrogen limitation, increase plant productivity, and counteract some of the carbon released from thawing permafrost. The net effect of this belowground fertilisation effect remains debated and is yet to be included in Earth System models. Here, we included the impact of thaw-related nitrogen fertilisation on vegetation in the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land surface model for the first time. We evaluated its ability to replicate a three-year belowground fertilisation experiment in which JULES was generally able to simulate belowground fertilisation in accordance with the observations. We also ran simulations under future climate to investigate how belowground nitrogen fertilisation affects the carbon cycle. These simulations indicate an increase in plant-available inorganic nitrogen at the thaw front by the end of the century with only the productivity of deep-rooting plants increasing in response. This suggests that deep-rooting species will have a competitive advantage under future climate warming. Our results also illustrate the capacity to simulate belowground nitrogen fertilisation at the thaw front in a global land surface model, leading towards a more complete representation of coupled carbon and nitrogen dynamics in the northern high latitudes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen Cycling in Permafrost Soils)
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Review

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44 pages, 3089 KiB  
Review
Microbiogeochemical Traits to Identify Nitrogen Hotspots in Permafrost Regions
by Claudia Fiencke, Maija E. Marushchak, Tina Sanders, Rica Wegner and Christian Beer
Nitrogen 2022, 3(3), 458-501; https://doi.org/10.3390/nitrogen3030031 - 12 Aug 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3983
Abstract
Permafrost-affected tundra soils are large carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) reservoirs. However, N is largely bound in soil organic matter (SOM), and ecosystems generally have low N availability. Therefore, microbial induced N-cycling processes and N losses were considered negligible. Recent studies show that [...] Read more.
Permafrost-affected tundra soils are large carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) reservoirs. However, N is largely bound in soil organic matter (SOM), and ecosystems generally have low N availability. Therefore, microbial induced N-cycling processes and N losses were considered negligible. Recent studies show that microbial N processing rates, inorganic N availability, and lateral N losses from thawing permafrost increase when vegetation cover is disturbed, resulting in reduced N uptake or increased N input from thawing permafrost. In this review, we describe currently known N hotspots, particularly bare patches in permafrost peatland or permafrost soils affected by thermokarst, and their microbiogeochemical characteristics, and present evidence for previously unrecorded N hotspots in the tundra. We summarize the current understanding of microbial N cycling processes that promote the release of the potent greenhouse gas (GHG) nitrous oxide (N2O) and the translocation of inorganic N from terrestrial into aquatic ecosystems. We suggest that certain soil characteristics and microbial traits can be used as indicators of N availability and N losses. Identifying N hotspots in permafrost soils is key to assessing the potential for N release from permafrost-affected soils under global warming, as well as the impact of increased N availability on emissions of carbon-containing GHGs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nitrogen Cycling in Permafrost Soils)
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