Thawed permafrost used in mesocosms

Thawed permafrost collected from the North Slope of Alaska and was combined with sand at a 1:1 ratio and used to grow the plants Betula nana and Eriophorum angustifolium, as well as no-plant controls. Differences in rhizodeposition patterns between the plant types were used to examine plant-specific differences in bacterial communities and soil organic matter decomposition, as well as other microbial processes and biogeochemical transformations.