search results that Davidson and Janssens review come from studies of forests and farms in temperate regions, they conclude that research on the temperature sensitivity of decomposition should be broadened to include peatlands, wetlands and permafrost in boreal and arctic regions, where huge stocks of soil carbon are susceptible to a rapidly changing climate Davidson says, "We know that decomposition of organic matter responds to temperature, but we need to establish a common conceptual framework to demonstrate the 'what, where, and how fast' of soil carbon decomposition. Hopefully, our paper will help clarify those issues and will stimulate more research where it is most urgently needed the potential 'time bomb' of decomposition of carbon in peatland and permafrost."

Davidson's research on soil carbon has been funded by the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, and NASA.

Dr. Davidson is an ecologist and soil scientist interested in the role of soil microorganisms as processors of carbon and nitrogen. He has studied the transfer of carbon and nitrogen gases from the soil to the atmosphere, where they contribute to warming of the earth. His research addresses how human management of the land affects this transfer of greenhouse gases. Dr. Davidson has held positions as National Research Council Associate at the NASA Ames Research Center and as Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Soil Microbiology at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his doctorate in forestry at North Carolina State University.

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Contact: Elizabeth Braun
ebraun@whrc.org
508-548-9375
Woods Hole Research Center
8-Mar-2006

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