Department Seminar: Michael Schmidt

Title: Deep soil organic matter responds to warming in many, often surprising ways

Abstract: In an increasingly warmer world, soil will warm in near synchrony with air temperatures. Consequently, heterotrophic respiration accelerates, but is unclear how this will affect soil organic matter (SOM) stocks, the Earth's largest terrestrial stock of reactive carbon. The aim of this presentation is to summarise the latest research insights on belowground carbon cycling, and ultimately to contribute to the answer the question: What will be the role of deep soil organic matter in terrestrial carbon cycle feedback to warming over the next century?