Soil survey: microbial, chemical and physical drivers of carbon cycle tracers

Two trace gases (carbonyl sulfide and the oxygen isotopes of CO₂) show promise to help disentangle carbon cycle processes, but their soil fluxes need additional characterization. As in leaves, we anticipate that carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzymes in soil microbes drive uptake of atmospheric COS by soils (COS + H₂O -> CO₂ + H₂S) and exchange of the oxygen isotopic signature between atmospheric CO₂ and water (CO₂ + H₂O <-> HCO₃^– + H⁺). We performed a soil survey to test whether soil microbial CA drive the soil fluxes of these two potential carbon cycle tracers. By measuring the microbial, chemical, and physical properties of a diverse set of soils, we set out to determine the best predictors of exchange of COS and ¹⁸O-CO₂, and specifically whether the abundance or diversity of microbial CA was the top predictor.

With the help of a large number of colleagues*, we collected and processed 20 soil samples from sites around the United States (including Hawaii) and from two sites in Cambodia. These soils represented a range of biomes and land use, as a number of soils came from sites used for agriculture.

This was my first experience working with soils, and I had a fantastic time! Soils are the result of coevolving biotic and abiotic components, and the results can be incredibly diverse. This diversity is evident in the range soil color and texture (see photo above), and was mirrored in our physical and chemical measurements. With support from a DOE Joint Genome Institute Community Science Program, we will be characterizing the microbial communities and their carbonic anhydrase expression to test whether soil microbial CA are linked with the soil exchange of these potential carbon cycle tracers.

*Max Berkelhammer, Ken Bible, Sebastien Biraud, Kristin Boye, Nona Ciariello, Ingrid Coughlin, Ankur Desai, Pat Dowell, Evan Goldman, Tom Guilderson, Paul Hanson, Marco Keiluweit, Kehaulani Marshall, Amy Meredith, Jesse Miller, Bharat Rastogi, Ulli Seibt, Christian von Sperber, Chris Still, Wu Sun, Jonathan Thom, Mary Whelan, Peter Vitousek.