Primary Convener:
Edward Schuur, Northern Arizona University

Convener:
Grant Falvo, Northern Arizona University

Chair:
Edward Schuur, Northern Arizona University
Grant Falvo, Northern Arizona University

Permafrost carbon (C) remains one of the most important C cycle feedbacks to climate, with implications for global society. Permafrost region soils contain 1440-1600 billion tons of C; release of just a fraction of this pool as carbon dioxide and methane can accelerate climate change. Permafrost degradation can change ecosystem C storage by enhancing microbial activity and ecosystem respiration, but can also stimulate plant growth and increase C stored in vegetation and surface soil. This session invites papers that examine factors causing losses and gains in permafrost C that contribute to current observations and future projections of changing permafrost C through time. Papers may address any aspect of this topic from microbial communities to the global scale, using a range of field or laboratory measurements or modeling to detect and forecast permafrost thaw and the influence on the C cycle and future climate.

Index Terms
0428 Carbon cycling
0486 Soils|pedology
0702 Permafrost
1615 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling

Cross-Listed:
C - Cryosphere

Neighborhoods:
3. Earth Covering