Biogeochemistry articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Article
  17 April 2023 | Open Access

  Structure and mechanism of the alkane-oxidizing enzyme AlkB

  Alkane monooxygenase (AlkB) plays a key role in the global carbon cycle and remediation of oil spills. Here, the authors report the cryo-EM structure of AlkB to provide insight into the catalytic mechanism and substrate selectivity.

  • Xue Guo
  • , Jianxiu Zhang
  •  & Liang Feng

• Article
  15 April 2023 | Open Access

  Evaluation of the methane paradox in four adjacent pre-alpine lakes across a trophic gradient

  Methane production was thought to be an exclusively anaerobic process. This study shows that methane production occurs in oxygenated surface waters of four pre-alpine lakes and is often the main contributor to their methane emissions

  • César Ordóñez
  • , Tonya DelSontro
  •  & Daniel F. McGinnis

• Article
  15 April 2023 | Open Access

  Global scale analysis on the extent of river channel belts

  Here the authors present a global scale classification of river channel belt extents as a resource for improved ecosystem accounting and river behavior analysis. Moreover, the methods show advances in pattern recognition to define new global landform products.

  • Björn Nyberg
  • , Gijs Henstra
  •  & Juha Ahokas

• Article
  15 April 2023 | Open Access

  Global patterns and edaphic-climatic controls of soil carbon decomposition kinetics predicted from incubation experiments

  The predictive power of earth system models may be improved by better representation of decomposition processes. Here, the authors use incubation data and machine learning to estimate soil organic matter decomposition kinetic parameters as a reference for global modelling.

  • Daifeng Xiang
  • , Gangsheng Wang
  •  & Wanyu Li

• Comment
  14 April 2023 | Open Access

  Quantifying the recarbonization of post-agricultural landscapes

  Despite worldwide prevalence, post-agricultural landscapes remain one of the least constrained human-induced land carbon sinks. To appraise their role in rebuilding the planet’s natural carbon stocks through ecosystem restoration, we need to better understand their spatial and temporal legacies.

  • Stephen M. Bell
  • , Samuel J. Raymond
  •  & César Terrer

• Article
  14 April 2023 | Open Access

  Centennial scale sequences of environmental deterioration preceded the end-Permian mass extinction

  The exact drivers for the end-Permian mass extinction remain controversial. This study reveals a turning point with the exhaustion of the terrestrial input and a strong fertilization of the marine realm leading to the demise of marine ecosystems.

  • Ryosuke Saito
  • , Lars Wörmer
  •  & Kai-Uwe Hinrichs

• Article
  13 April 2023 | Open Access

  Stabilization of mineral-associated organic carbon in Pleistocene permafrost

  In ice-rich Siberian permafrost sediments deposited during the Pleistocene, 33-74% of the organic carbon is mineral-bound favoured by the presence of reactive iron, which can reduce microbial CO₂ production after thawing

  • Jannik Martens
  • , Carsten W. Mueller
  •  & Janet Rethemeyer

• Article
  12 April 2023 | Open Access

  Assessing the impact of the global subsea telecommunications network on sedimentary organic carbon stocks

  The sequestration of organic carbon in seafloor sediments plays a key role in regulating global climate. Here, the authors present an assessment of organic carbon disturbance related to the globally-extensive subsea telecommunications cable network.

  • M. A. Clare
  • , A. Lichtschlag
  •  & N. L. M. Barlow

• Article
  11 April 2023 | Open Access

  Carbon sequestration by multiple biological pump pathways in a coastal upwelling biome

  Biological carbon pump pathways combine to transport organic carbon into the deep ocean. This study shows that sinking particles sequester 4 Pg C, active transport sequesters 1 Pg C, and subduction sequesters 0.8 Pg C in the California Current Ecosystem.

  • Michael R. Stukel
  • , John P. Irving
  •  & Natalia Yingling

• Article
  11 April 2023 | Open Access

  The contribution of penguin guano to the Southern Ocean iron pool

  Here the authors show that Chinstrap penguins play a significant role in iron recycling, essential for phytoplankton growth and carbon sequestration, recycling yearly 521 tonnes of iron, half of what they did 40 years ago due to population decline.

  • Oleg Belyaev
  • , Erica Sparaventi
  •  & Antonio Tovar-Sánchez

• Article
  10 April 2023 | Open Access

  Organic matter degradation causes enrichment of organic pollutants in hadal sediments

  Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are found in hadal trench sediment in the Atacama trench at depths down to 8085 m. High turnover of organic matter in the trench contributes to elevated contaminant concentrations in this extreme and remote place.

  • Anna Sobek
  • , Sebastian Abel
  •  & Ronnie N. Glud

• Article
  10 April 2023 | Open Access

  O₂ partitioning of sulfur oxidizing bacteria drives acidity and thiosulfate distributions in mining waters

  Microbial genomics is a widely under-utilized tool in mining in understanding water quality drivers. Here the authors show early acid generation and thiosulfate concentrations are driven by O2 dependent microbial sulfur oxidizing bacterial niches in a mine tailings impoundment

  • Kelly J. Whaley-Martin
  • , Lin-Xing Chen
  •  & Lesley A. Warren

• Article
  07 April 2023 | Open Access

  Year-round utilization of sea ice-associated carbon in Arctic ecosystems

  Koch and Brown et al. led a collaborative and comprehensive synthesis that shows the transfer of ice algal carbon is widespread throughout the Arctic marine food web and contributes to supporting organisms throughout the dark winter months

  • Chelsea W. Koch
  • , Thomas A. Brown
  •  & David J. Yurkowski

• Article
  06 April 2023 | Open Access

  Carbon-sink potential of continuous alfalfa agriculture lowered by short-term nitrous oxide emission events

  Long-term continuous greenhouse gas measurements in alfalfa cropland showed that the magnitude of the carbon sink was significantly offset by large nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission events following irrigation and rainfall.

  • Tyler L. Anthony
  • , Daphne J. Szutu
  •  & Whendee L. Silver

• Article
  03 April 2023 | Open Access

  Sterol methyltransferases in uncultured bacteria complicate eukaryotic biomarker interpretations

  Sterane molecular fossils with side-chain methylations have not been reported in the bacterial domain. One such sterane, 24-isopropylcholestane, has been attributed to ancient sponges, potentially representing the earliest evidence for animals on Earth. This study demonstrates that symbiotic bacteria are capable of producing the 24-isopropyl sterol side-chain, suggesting that bacteria should not be dismissed as sources of these biomarkers in the rock record.

  • Malory O. Brown
  • , Babatunde O. Olagunju
  •  & Paula V. Welander

• Article
  25 March 2023 | Open Access

  Coastal El Niño triggers rapid marine silicate alteration on the seafloor

  This study identifies the rapidness of marine mineral reactions, directly after an extreme rainfall event. The reactions have the potential to affect marine cation and CO₂ cycling, impacting element turnover on human time scales

  • Sonja Geilert
  • , Daniel A. Frick
  •  & Andrew W. Dale

• Article
  24 March 2023 | Open Access

  Alkalinity responses to climate warming destabilise the Earth’s thermostat

  The weathering alkalinity flux from mid-latitudes to the ocean will be strongly altered by climate warming by 2100. Under different emissions scenarios either a strengthening or a weakening of the flux and thus of the oceanic CO₂ buffer is predicted.

  • Nele Lehmann
  • , Tobias Stacke
  •  & Helmuth Thomas

• Perspective
  21 March 2023 | Open Access

  Integrating terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to constrain estimates of land-atmosphere carbon exchange

  One of the main sources of uncertainty in carbon budgets is that continental landscapes are made up of a heterogeneous mosaic of ecosystems. Here the authors put forward an integrative framework to improve estimates of land-atmosphere carbon exchange based on the accumulation of carbon in the landscape as constrained by its lateral export through rivers.

  • Joan P. Casas-Ruiz
  • , Pascal Bodmer
  •  & Paul A. del Giorgio

• Perspective
  21 March 2023 | Open Access

  Toward sustainable space exploration: a roadmap for harnessing the power of microorganisms

  Establishing sustainable approaches for human space exploration is key to achieve independency from terrestrial resources, as well as for ethical considerations. Here the authors highlight microbial biotechnologies that will support sustainable processes for space-based in situ resource utilization and loop-closure, and may be translatable to Earth applications.

  • Rosa Santomartino
  • , Nils J. H. Averesch
  •  & Luis Zea

• Article
  18 March 2023 | Open Access

  Litter accumulation and fire risks show direct and indirect climate-dependence at continental scale

  Compiled data on litterfall and litter in eucalypt forests and woodlands for the Australian continent shows that litter mass can be robustly predicted using just three independent variables – time, aridity and litterfall quality

  • Mark A. Adams
  •  & Mathias Neumann

• Article
  13 March 2023 | Open Access

  Effects of acidification on nitrification and associated nitrous oxide emission in estuarine and coastal waters

  Acidification of estuarine and coastal water due to synergistic effects of human induced eutrophication and elevated atmospheric CO₂ could inhibit nitrification, a vital link of nitrogen cycle, but increase the release of powerful greenhouse gas N₂O.

  • Jie Zhou
  • , Yanling Zheng
  •  & Min Liu

• Article
  13 March 2023 | Open Access

  Molecular fingerprints resolve affinities of Rhynie chert organic fossils

  It can be challenging to identify extinct organisms with morphology alone. Here, the authors use non-destructive Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to determine the molecular fingerprints of eukaryotes and prokaryotes from the 407 Ma Rhynie chert fossil assemblage of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

  • C. C. Loron
  • , E. Rodriguez Dzul
  •  & S. McMahon

• Article
  09 March 2023 | Open Access

  Wind-driven upwelling of iron sustains dense blooms and food webs in the eastern Weddell Gyre

  This study reports a dense, late summer phytoplankton bloom in the Southern Ocean that accumulated unusually high levels of organic matter and supported feeding hot spots for birds and whales. The authors show that this recurring open ocean bloom is driven by anomalies in easterly winds that push sea ice southwards and favour the upwelling of deep waters enriched in hydrothermal iron.

  • Sebastien Moreau
  • , Tore Hattermann
  •  & Harald Steen

• Article
  08 March 2023 | Open Access

  Seasonality of downward carbon export in the Pacific Southern Ocean revealed by multi-year robotic observations

  Distinct seasonality of export pathways from the different pumps in the Pacific Southern Ocean are revealed using year-round robotic profiler observations, contributing to understanding of particle export into the oceans’ interior.

  • Léo Lacour
  • , Joan Llort
  •  & Philip W. Boyd

• Article
  22 February 2023 | Open Access

  Temperature, species identity and morphological traits predict carbonate excretion and mineralogy in tropical reef fishes

  Marine fishes can substantially contribute to the inorganic carbon cycle through the excretion of intestinally precipitated carbonates, but the underlying drivers remain largely unknown. This study identifies the environmental factors and fish traits that predict carbonate excretion rate and mineralogical composition in tropical reef fishes.

  • Mattia Ghilardi
  • , Michael A. Salter
  •  & Sonia Bejarano

• Article
  20 February 2023 | Open Access

  Reactive oxygen species affect the potential for mineralization processes in permeable intertidal flats

  Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are present in the pore water of intertidal permeable sediments, even in the anoxic zones. They control aerobic and anaerobic microbial degradation processes and thereby impact carbon turnover.

  • Marit R. van Erk
  • , Olivia M. Bourceau
  •  & Dirk de Beer

• Article
  20 February 2023 | Open Access

  Pelagic calcium carbonate production and shallow dissolution in the North Pacific Ocean

  Ziveri et al find calcifying phytoplankton dominate pelagic CaCO₃ production, but a large portion of this CaCO₃ dissolves in the photic zone - they suggest the processes driving shallow CaCO₃ dissolution are key to understanding the role of planktonic calcifiers in regulating atmospheric CO₂.

  • Patrizia Ziveri
  • , William Robert Gray
  •  & William Berelson

• Article
  16 February 2023 | Open Access

  Long-term soil warming decreases microbial phosphorus utilization by increasing abiotic phosphorus sorption and phosphorus losses

  Temperate forest soil warming (>14 years) increased soil phosphorus (P) losses and P sorption, reducing bioavailable P in soil solution and resulting in higher acid phosphatase activity but lower biotic phosphate immobilization and microbial biomass.

  • Ye Tian
  • , Chupei Shi
  •  & Wolfgang Wanek

• Review Article
  02 February 2023 | Open Access

  Monitoring and modelling marine zooplankton in a changing climate

  Zooplankton are a critical link to higher trophic levels and play an important role in global biogeochemical cycles. This Review examines key responses of zooplankton to ocean warming, highlights key knowledge and geographic gaps that need to be addressed, and discusses how better use of observations and long-term zooplankton monitoring programmes can help fill these gaps.

  • Lavenia Ratnarajah
  • , Rana Abu-Alhaija
  •  & Lidia Yebra

• Article
  02 February 2023 | Open Access

  Salp blooms drive strong increases in passive carbon export in the Southern Ocean

  Gelatinous bloom-forming zooplankton—salps—alter microbial communities and quintuple the flux of sinking particles from the surface to the deep, strongly enhancing the ability of the ocean to sequester CO₂.

  • Moira Décima
  • , Michael R. Stukel
  •  & Matt Pinkerton

• Article
  20 January 2023 | Open Access

  Mineral weathering is linked to microbial priming in the critical zone

  Mineral weathering and microbial priming are two important processes that regulate soil formation and CO₂ emissions. Here the authors link weathering with primed organic matter decomposition, which plays a key role in controlling soil C dynamics.

  • Qian Fang
  • , Anhuai Lu
  •  & Jon Chorover

• Article
  17 January 2023 | Open Access

  Reconciling discrepant minor sulfur isotope records of the Great Oxidation Event

  Emerging sulfur isotope data divides opinion surrounding the Great Oxidation Event. Utilising computational approaches and additional data, Uveges et al. reconcile these disparities, offering a more refined framework of atmospheric oxygenation.

  • Benjamin T. Uveges
  • , Gareth Izon
  •  & Roger E. Summons

• Article
  03 January 2023 | Open Access

  Methane emissions offset atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake in coastal macroalgae, mixed vegetation and sediment ecosystems

  Coastal ecosystems are promoted as nature-based solutions to climate change. Here, the authors show that natural methane emissions across a variety of vegetated and unvegetated coastal habitats can, however, offset one-third of the carbon sink capacity attributed to atmospheric carbon dioxide uptake.

  • Florian Roth
  • , Elias Broman
  •  & Alf Norkko

• Article
  20 December 2022 | Open Access

  Low atmospheric CO₂ levels before the rise of forested ecosystems

  Dahl et al. present new evidence based on leaf gas-exchange in primitive vascular plants and fossil remains of some of their earliest ancestors. This alters our thinking on how plants impacted the Earth System and climate.

  • Tais W. Dahl
  • , Magnus A. R. Harding
  •  & Christopher K. Junium

• Article
  17 December 2022 | Open Access

  Steps dominate gas evasion from a mountain headwater stream

  Emissions from local steps dominate the CO2 evasion of mountain river networks, owing to the pronounced turbulence in correspondence of each plunging jet and the low spacing between steps typical of high energy streams.

  • Gianluca Botter
  • , Anna Carozzani
  •  & Nicola Durighetto

• Article
  13 December 2022 | Open Access

  Significant contributions of combustion-related sources to ammonia emissions

  By integrating nitrogen isotope systematics of ammonia emissions and transformations in the atmosphere, this study quantified the combustion-related ammonia emission and uncovered its importance for mitigating strategies of ammonia pollution.

  • Zhi-Li Chen
  • , Wei Song
  •  & Xue-Yan Liu

• Matters Arising
  12 December 2022 | Open Access

  Re-examining extreme carbon isotope fractionation in the coccolithophore Ochrosphaera neapolitana

  • Hongrui Zhang
  • , Ismael Torres-Romero
  •  & Heather M. Stoll

• Matters Arising
  12 December 2022 | Open Access

  Reply to: Re-examining extreme carbon isotope fractionation in the coccolithophore Ochrosphaera neapolitana

  • Yi-Wei Liu
  • , Robert A. Eagle
  •  & Justin B. Ries

• Article
  12 December 2022 | Open Access

  Bioenergetic control of soil carbon dynamics across depth

  The high persistence of deep soil carbon is controlled by bioenergetic constraints of decomposers resulting from the poor energy quality of soil carbon together with the lack of energy supply by roots due to their low density at depth

  • Ludovic Henneron
  • , Jerôme Balesdent
  •  & Sébastien Fontaine

• Article
  06 December 2022 | Open Access

  New globally distributed bacterial phyla within the FCB superphylum

  Our understanding of microbial diversity and physiology in marine sediments is limited. Here, Gong et al. analyze thousands of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from coastal and deep-sea sediments, and identify MAGs belonging to new bacterial phyla that seem able to mediate key steps in sedimentary biogeochemistry.

  • Xianzhe Gong
  • , Álvaro Rodríguez del Río
  •  & Brett J. Baker

• Article
  30 November 2022 | Open Access

  Global distribution and climate sensitivity of the tropical montane forest nitrogen cycle

  Tropical montane forests harbor a disproportionately large fraction of the global tropical forest soil N pool. Elevational increases in soil N and decreases in δ15N are largely driven by temperature, suggesting sensitivity of this N pool to warming.

  • Justin D. Gay
  • , Bryce Currey
  •  & E. N. J. Brookshire

• Article
  27 November 2022 | Open Access

  A diverse Ediacara assemblage survived under low-oxygen conditions

  Geochemical data from sedimentary rocks in Siberia indicate that members of the soft-bodied Ediacara biota (the earliest macroscopic life on Earth) were tolerant of low-oxygen conditions, suggesting they had the capacity for anaerobic metabolisms.

  • Lucas B. Cherry
  • , Geoffrey J. Gilleaudeau
  •  & Alan J. Kaufman

• Article
  27 November 2022 | Open Access

  Aerobic oxidation of methane significantly reduces global diffusive methane emissions from shallow marine waters

  Aerobic oxidation is a biological sink of methane that can reduce oceanic emissions to the atmosphere. This study estimates that half of methane from total loss, amounting to 1.8 ± 2.7 Tg, is oxidized annually in global 0–50 m near-shore waters

  • Shi-Hai Mao
  • , Hong-Hai Zhang
  •  & Gui-Peng Yang

• Article
  26 November 2022 | Open Access

  Increased fire activity under high atmospheric oxygen concentrations is compatible with the presence of forests

  This study shows that fire activity under high atmospheric oxygen concentrations does not remove or prevent regeneration of present-day global forests, contradicting a long-term assumption used to define the upper limit of oxygen through time.

  • Rayanne Vitali
  • , Claire M. Belcher
  •  & Andrew J. Watson

• Article
  26 November 2022 | Open Access

  Transfer efficiency of organic carbon in marine sediments

  The burial of organic carbon in marine sediments regulates Earth’s carbon cycle and climate. Here, authors present ‘transfer efficiencies’ as a new framework for quantifying the sedimentary portion of the marine organic carbon cycle.

  • James A. Bradley
  • , Dominik Hülse
  •  & Sandra Arndt

• Comment
  24 November 2022 | Open Access

  The unknown biogeochemical impacts of drying rivers and streams

  Rivers and streams are increasingly drying with climate change and biogeochemical impacts may be important. In this comment the authors discuss the challenges to the biogeochemistry of non-perennial rivers and streams, and what can be done to tackle them.

  • Margaret A. Zimmer
  • , Amy J. Burgin
  •  & Jacob Hosen

• Article
  23 November 2022 | Open Access

  Linked fire activity and climate whiplash in California during the early Holocene

  A California stalagmite records vegetation shifts and increased fire activity during the 8.2 kyr event. These changes occur alongside oscillations between wet and dry extremes suggesting tight coupling between climate whiplash and fire activity.

  • Julia Homann
  • , Jessica L. Oster
  •  & Thorsten Hoffmann

• Article
  22 November 2022 | Open Access

  Deglacial release of petrogenic and permafrost carbon from the Canadian Arctic impacting the carbon cycle

  Shrinking of the Laurentide Ice Sheet mobilized the underlying rock organic carbon. Together with permafrost carbon release, this may contribute 12 ppm to deglacial CO2 rise, underscoring the impact of cryospheric change on the carbon cycle.

  • Junjie Wu
  • , Gesine Mollenhauer
  •  & Seung-Il Nam

• Article
  16 November 2022 | Open Access

  Intensive grassland management disrupts below-ground multi-trophic resource transfer in response to drought

  Land use intensification could make soil food webs less able to recover from drought. Here, the authors find that intensive grassland management impairs recent photosynthate flux to roots and soil biota after drought, whereas extensive grassland management buffers the legacy of drought.

  • Mathilde Chomel
  • , Jocelyn M. Lavallee
  •  & Richard D. Bardgett

• Article
  15 November 2022 | Open Access

  Understanding soil selenium accumulation and bioavailability through size resolved and elemental characterization of soil extracts

  Selenium is essential for human health and mainly delivered via terrestrial foodstuffs. An advanced characterization of selenium chemical forms shows that organic matter increases its accumulation in soils but could limit its supply to plants

  • Julie Tolu
  • , Sylvain Bouchet
  •  & Lenny H. E. Winkel