{"648107":{"#nid":"648107","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Temperate Glimpse Into a Warming World","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFor the past six years, multidisciplinary researchers from across the world have been probing northern Minnesota peat bogs in an unprecedented, long-range study of climate change supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. They set out to answer complex questions, including one big one \u2013 will future warming somehow release 10,000 years of accumulated carbon from peatlands that store a large portion of earth\u2019s terrestrial carbon?\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESo the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) partnered with the USDA Forest Service to develop a one-of-its-kind field lab in the Marcel Experimental Forest, where below and above ground heating elements are gradually warming the bog in greenhouse-like enclosures big enough to include trees. The enclosures are roofless so that rain and snow can get in.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s called the SPRUCE (Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments) experiment, and it was designed as a window into what would happen to peat bogs in a warmer world. A recent study, headed by Georgia Institute of Technology microbiologist Joel Kostka and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/118\/25\/e2004192118.short?rss=1\u0022\u003Epublished June 14 in the journal \u003Cem\u003EPNAS\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, provides a sobering outlook.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe real concern and one of the major conclusions of this paper is that the ecosystem we\u2019re studying is becoming more methanogenic,\u201d said Kostka, professor and associate chair of research in the School of Biological Sciences, who holds a joint appointment in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and focuses on microbial ecology. \u201cIn other words, the warmed bog is enhancing the rate of methane production faster than that for carbon dioxide. This is what we think is going to happen in a warming world, based on our results.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETesty Little Process\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMethanogens are microbes that produce methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that traps up to 30 times more heat than carbon dioxide. Warming the peatland, the researchers found, basically creates a methane production line.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis occurs because the plant community changes in response to warmer temperatures \u2013 mosses decrease and vascular plants increase,\u201d said the paper\u2019s lead author, Rachel Wilson, a researcher with Florida State University\u2019s Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, where she works in the lab of professor Jeff Chanton, co-author and co-principal investigator of the study.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe process forms a complete cycle: Vascular plants \u2013 shrubs and grass-like plants \u2013 produce more simple sugars, which are broken down by fermentative bacteria, and the breakdown products then fuel methane-producing microbes use to produce more methane.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile peatlands comprise just 3 percent of the Earth\u2019s landmass, they store about one-third of the planet\u2019s soil carbon. The thinking goes, as global temperatures rise, microbes could break into the carbon bank and the resulting decomposition of the ancient, combustible plant biomass would lead to increased levels of carbon dioxide and methane being released into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMethane is a stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide,\u201d said Wilson. \u201cWarming the climate stimulates methane production, which will contribute to more warming in a positive feedback loop.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s a scenario that Chanton called, \u201ca critical ecosystem shift. Peat soils that have been stable for thousands of years are giving up the ghost, so to speak. It\u2019s a testy little process.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDelayed Response\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThat unpleasant outcome is being delayed somewhat by the extreme conditions found in many peat bogs around the world, including at the SPRUCE experiment site.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAlthough most peatlands are in northern regions undergoing some of the most rapid warming on the planet, we\u2019re talking about generally cold, acidic soils where there\u2019s no oxygen,\u201d Kostka noted. \u201cMethanogens grow really slowly under these extreme conditions. We do see their activity increasing with warming, but they\u2019re not yet growing that fast.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHe has a good idea of what could happen, though. Several years ago, Kostka took soil samples from the Minnesota site and tested them in his lab at Georgia Tech, exaggerating the temperature to a much greater degree than would be possible in a large-scale experiment like SPRUCE.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERaising the temperature by 20 degrees Celsius, about twice the temperature range used in the field experiment, \u201cwe saw huge increases in methane and large changes in the microbes that break down soil carbon into greenhouse gases,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0027s a sped-up version of what they\u2019re seeing in the field where the research team, Kostka explained, \u201cand it is just beginning to scratch the surface of the changes we\u2019re seeing in this ecosystem.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENext Chapter\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe SPRUCE site experiment involves two kinds of treatment, warming and also elevated carbon dioxide. The warming treatment started in 2014. All of the data sets for the PNAS paper are from 2016. The elevated carbon dioxide treatment began in the final days of data collection, so it wasn\u2019t particularly relevant for this study. \u201cGoing forward, we\u2019re thinking the effects of elevated carbon dioxide will be one potential future story to tell,\u201d Kostka said. \u201cThis is a long-term experiment and many of these large scale climate change field experiments do not observe substantial changes to microbial communities until 10 years after they start.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, SPRUCE experimental activity is designed and intended to develop a quantitative mechanistic understanding of carbon cycling processes, according to Paul Hanson, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientist leading the long-range project as principal investigator.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSPRUCE\u0026nbsp;provides experimental insights for a broad range of plausible future warming conditions for an established peatland ecosystem, combined with or without elevated carbon dioxide,\u201d Hanson said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESo far, the evidence is pointing to a grim possibility: Warming enhances the production of carbon substrates from plants, stimulating microbial activity and greenhouse gas production, possibly leading to amplified climate-peatland feedbacks. Think, gasoline on a fire.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat would be the worst case scenario,\u201d Kostka said. \u201cWe don\u2019t really know yet how plants and microbes will exchange carbon and nutrients in a warmer world. Will that carbon be locked up by the plants and stored in the soil? Will it be respired by microbes and released as a gas?\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;We are just beginning to see major changes in the microbes and plants at the SPRUCE peatland.\u0026nbsp; Although the first few years of the experiment indicate that a lot more methane will be released to the atmosphere, we will be looking to see if these changes are sustained over the long term.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECITATIONS: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Rachel M. Wilson, Malak M. Tfaily, Max Kolton, Eric Johnston, Caitlin Petro, Cassandra A. Zalman, Paul J. Hanson, Heino M. Heyman, Jennifer E. Kyle, David W. Hoyt, Elizabeth K. Eder, Samuel O. Purvine, Randy K. Kolka, Stephen D. Sebestyen, Natalie A. Griffiths, Christopher W. Schadt, Jason K. Keller, Scott D. Bridgham, and Jeffrey P. Chanton, and Joel E. Kostka.\u0026nbsp; \u201cSoil metabolome response to whole ecosystem warming at the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments experiment\u201d (\u003Cem\u003EPNAS\u003C\/em\u003E, June 2021) https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2004192118\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAERIAL PHOTO:\u003C\/strong\u003E Hanson, P.J., M.B. Krassovski, and L.A. Hook. 2020. SPRUCE S1 Bog and SPRUCE Experiment Aerial Photographs. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TES SFA, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3334\/CDIAC\/spruce.012 (UAV image number 0050 collected on October 4, 2020).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERELATED LINKS: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/\u0022\u003E\u201cSoil metabolome response to whole ecosystem warming at the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments experiment\u201d\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/content\/118\/25\/e2004192118\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.joelkostka.net\/\u0022\u003EJoel Kostka \u2013 Microbial Ecology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/mnspruce.ornl.gov\/\u0022\u003ESPRUCE Experiment\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/rh.gatech.edu\/features\/shaking-sleeping-bog-monster\u0022\u003E\u201cShaking a Sleeping Bog Monster\u201d\u003C\/a\u003E (\u003Cem\u003EResearch Horizons\u003C\/em\u003E)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/nsf-supports-research-microbes-peat-moss\u0022\u003ENSF Supports Research on the Microbes in Peat Moss\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/science-matters\/sciencematters-season-3-episode-8-digging-climate-clues-peat-moss\u0022\u003EScienceMatters Podcast: Digging Up Climate Clues in Peat Moss\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"SPRUCE experiment study shows elevated levels of greenhouse gases emerging from carbon-rich peatlands"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESPRUCE experiment study shows elevated levels of greenhouse gases emerging from carbon-rich peatlands\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"SPRUCE experiment study shows elevated levels of greenhouse gases emerging from carbon-rich peatlands"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2021-06-14 19:22:28","changed_gmt":"2024-02-15 20:26:43","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-06-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-06-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"648105":{"id":"648105","type":"image","title":"Aerial SPRUCE","body":null,"created":"1623697776","gmt_created":"2021-06-14 19:09:36","changed":"1623697776","gmt_changed":"2021-06-14 19:09:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"246029","name":"Aerial SPRUCE.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Aerial%20SPRUCE.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Aerial%20SPRUCE.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4339456,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Aerial%20SPRUCE.jpg?itok=czEb3FzQ"}},"648106":{"id":"648106","type":"image","title":"SPRUCE - Joel Kostka","body":null,"created":"1623698456","gmt_created":"2021-06-14 19:20:56","changed":"1623698507","gmt_changed":"2021-06-14 19:21:47","alt":"","file":{"fid":"246030","name":"Joel Kostka.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Joel%20Kostka_2.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Joel%20Kostka_2.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3198839,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Joel%20Kostka_2.jpg?itok=5OUsNeU6"}}},"media_ids":["648105","648106"],"groups":[{"id":"620089","name":"Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection (CMDI)"},{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"173581","name":"go-COS"},{"id":"188231","name":"CMDI"},{"id":"126571","name":"go-PetitInstitute"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"831","name":"climate change"},{"id":"791","name":"Global Warming"},{"id":"182974","name":"peat bogs"},{"id":"12800","name":"methane"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWriter: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}