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Soil Carbon under the Snowpack in a Continuous Coniferous Forest

Soil Carbon under the Snowpack in a Continuous Coniferous Forest. Daniel P. Bradley February 19 th , 2011 Winter Ecology. Mountain Research Station, University of Colorado, Boulder EBIO 4100, Sec 570. Life in the Winter Soils.

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Soil Carbon under the Snowpack in a Continuous Coniferous Forest

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  1. Soil Carbon under the Snowpack in a Continuous Coniferous Forest Daniel P. Bradley February 19th, 2011 Winter Ecology Mountain Research Station, University of Colorado, Boulder EBIO 4100, Sec 570

  2. Life in the Winter Soils • Soil microbes in snow covered soils are respiring every minute, consuming available nutrients, and off-gassing them as CO2 (King 08). • Our class experiment: 18.536 g (0.653 oz) of carbon could be converted into CO2 in 186 days (Oct 25 – May 1), in ~100 cm2 (Winter Eco 11). • Winter soil: An ideal environment for microbial life.

  3. Pro’s and Con’s of Winter Microbial Life Pro’s Con’s • Highly protected • Predatory, UV • Highly stable • Temperature • Water supply • via the snowpack, varying (Brooks 96) • A specialized niche • Food Supply • High, but non-replenishing • Temperature • Not ideal for metabolic processes

  4. The Food Supply • The food supply in a finite amount • We can assume that the amount of food is equal throughout the forest.

  5. Question • If food is limited by the cover of the snowpack, does the depth of the snowpack affect the amount of carbon (food) in the soil? • HA : There is a difference in soil carbon between sites of varying snowpack. • HO : There is not a difference in soil carbon

  6. Methods • A deep and shallow site were found on Feb 5th • Five samples for each site were taken, with 2 sub sites for each site, from the top 5cm of the soil. • The soils were refrigerated maintain metabolic processes • The soils were then sieved, weighed into 5 gram samples • The samples were dried, combusted and weighed. • Percent differences and averages were derived.

  7. The Sites CU Mountain Research Station - Google Earth

  8. Results • The data show that there was a significant difference (p-value ≤ 0.05) in soil carbon between the sites

  9. The Data • p-value = 0.0165 (paired t-test) • Mean percent difference: deep=0.1057, shallow=0.3322

  10. The Data • p-value = 0.0113 • (paired t-test) • Mean difference, in grams: deep=0.0056, shallow=0.0182

  11. Discussion • The shallow snowpack had more carbon underneath it, why? • Carbon is limiting for microbes, lower carbon indicates higher microbe populations/activity (Nemergut 11). • Temperature swings. • What is affecting snowpack? • Wind, Precipitation • What is affecting the amount of carbon (litter) under the snowpack? • Beetle kill?

  12. Summary • Snowpack does have an affect on the microbial population of the soil, via carbon. • More snowpack, more respiration, more carbon consumed.

  13. Literature Cited • Brooks, Paul D., Mark W. Williams, and Steven Schmidt. "Microbial Activity under Alpine Snowpacks, Niwot Ridge, Colorado " Biogeochemistry 32.2 (1996). 93-113. Mark Williams. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. • King , A. J., A. F. Meyer, and S. K. Schmidt. "High Levels of Microbial Biomass and Activity in Unvegetated Tropical and Temperate Alpine Soils." Soil Biology and Biochemistry 40.10 (2008): 2605-610. ScienceDirect. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. • Nemergut, Diana, CU-Boulder, INSTAAR. Personal interview. 16 Feb. 2011. • Winter Ecology 2011, and T. Kittle. TS. CU-Boulder, Mountain Research Station.

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