About our project

Work packages

Staff

Field sites

Equipment

Activities

Publications

Contact

WP 5. Quality and decomposability of organic matter in permafrost soils

WP 5 Team:

• Olga Shibistova (PhD, Senior Researcher) – PI
  
• Lydmila Mukhortova (PhD, Senior Researcher)
  
• Dmitry Alexandrov (PhD student)
  
• Ekaterina Koryagina (PhD student)
  

WP 5 Motivation:

• Quality and bioavailability of organic matter stored in permafrost soils are key factors determining carbon fluxes upon global warming
  
• Climatic response of permafrost soils might vary with:
   - Permafrost regime (active layer vs. permafrost)
   - Organic matter quality
   - Involved stabilization mechanisms

WP 5 Research questions:

• How is soil organic matter (SOM) stabilized in permafrost soils?
  
• How vulnerable is SOM in permafrost soils with respect to permafrost degradation?
  

WP 5 Approaches:

• Analysis of SOM fractions:
  
• Analysis of biomarkers in soils:
  

   - Phospholipid Fatty Acids (PLFAs) are principle components of viable cellular membrane and provide direct information on the microbial community composition (“fingerprint”)

   - Lignin composition and decomposability as indicator of SOM origin and degree of microbial transformation

• To assess vulnerability and stabilization in organo-mineral associations by incubation experiments
  

   - Long-term incubation experiment of bulk soils and fractions under different temperature and moisture regimes

   - ¹³C, ¹⁵N labeling (primimg)
  
• To relate results to abiotic variables and products obtained in WPs 1, 2, and 3