Inorganic Nutrient Research- Bonanza Creek LTER BNZ LTER Global permafrost soil organic C pool: 1,500 Pg 0-3 m depth Warming = 15% loss of pool by 2100 Increasing intensity of climate sensitive disturbances will accelerate loss What is the fate of permafrost soil N in warming ecosystems? How will N release feedback to warming? Recent Key Findings - Inorganic Nutrients Bonanza Creek LTER BNZ LTER Cumulative N release (g N g soil -1 ) Bulk soil N (%) Water-soluble N (g N g soil -1 ) Bulk soil N (%) Permafrost Active layer Soil state Large potential flux of labile N from thawing permafrost soil Can plants (or their symbionts) access labile N from thawing permafrost? Increasing active layer depth shifts flow paths from organic to mineral soils Thaw increases hydro export of N; how about gaseous? Syntheses ideas - Inorganic Nutrients Bonanza Creek LTER BNZ LTER 1.How does increasing nutrient availability affect net ecosystem carbon balance across the LTER network? Defining ecosystem nutrient use efficiency: (dC/dN) or eNUE Can we use our understandings of plant and microbial nutrient limitation and nutrient or carbon use efficiency to develop a conceptual model of eNUE response? How much C can ecosystems sequester? 2.How do changes in nitrogen cycling processes contribute to indirect forcing of climate warming across the LTER network? How does the magnitude of effect compare between N stimulation of primary productivity versus N loss pathways?