Does decomposition temperature change the size of soil C fractions?
A general assumption in soil decomposition is that temperature affects the rate (k) of decomposition and that k increases with increasing temperature. Along these same lines it is generally assumed that the size of the different soil fractions is constant regardless of the decomposition temperature and that it is an inherent characteristic of the soil dependent on the quality of OM that is there. Microbes are generally assumed to prefer organic matter (OM) which is chemically uncomplex and more labile and that increases in temperature cause microbes to increase their rate of decomposition, but not what they decompose. Results from a soil incubation study we are currently working on seem to contradict with the above assumptions. We have been incubating twelve different soils for over 400 days at four different temperature (5, 15, 25, 35 C) and measuring the CO2 coming off over time. We plotted respiration rate over time and used a three pool fist order kinetics model to determine the si
