Articles | Volume 16, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1527-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-16-1527-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Sep 2025
Research article |
| 17 Sep 2025
| 17 Sep 2025
Carbon–climate feedback higher when assuming Michaelis–Menten kinetics of respiration
Christian Beer
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth System Sciences, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics, and Natural Sciences, University of Hamburg, 20134 Hamburg, Germany
Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, University of Hamburg, 20134 Hamburg, Germany
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Soil texture varies over centimeters, which is overseen by large-scale models, likely causing simulation errors. We developed a 2-dimesional geophysical soil model (DynSoM-2D) with a resolution of 10 cm and ran it with different setups at a permafrost-affected site. Using high-resolution input, DynSoM-2D simulates a warmer soil, which thaws deeper and has an extended snow-free period in summer. These changes can impact ecosystem dynamics, but have little effect on yearly soil-air heat exchange.
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Arctic warming might lead to increased carbon dioxide and methane emissions. Process-based prediction of their ratio is key to projecting the future carbon cycle. However, land surface models often assume a constant ratio. To overcome this limitation, we identify three core processes for representing methanogenesis accurately in land surface models: fermentation, acetoclastic methanogenesis, and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis.
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Estuarine marshes are vital for capturing carbon and benefiting the climate. Our research explored how plant-microbe interactions affect carbon cycling, focusing on traits like root oxygen loss. Using a model, we found that accounting for these trait variations significantly changes carbon balance estimates. This suggests that including plant diversity in ecosystem models improves predictions about carbon dynamics in estuarine marshes, highlighting their importance in climate regulation.
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Short summary
Fauna and flora respire carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is a major carbon flux into the atmosphere. The underlying biochemical processes are complex, and we generalize them either assuming a first-order chemical reaction of carbon and oxygen to carbon dioxide or assuming enzymatic reactions. Here, we show that these assumptions lead to large differences in estimating the carbon–climate feedback until 2100 and the remaining carbon budget to keep warming below 2°C.
Fauna and flora respire carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is a major carbon flux into...
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