Cross-biome patterns in soil microbial respiration predictable from evolutionary theory on thermal adaptation

Climate warming may stimulate microbial metabolism of soil carbon, causing a carbon cycle-climate feedback whereby carbon is redistributed from soil to atmospheric CO2. The magnitude of this feedback is uncertain, in part because warming-induced shifts in microbial physiology and/or community composition could retard or accelerate soil carbon losses. Here, we measure microbial respiration rates for soils collected from 22 sites in each of three years, at locations spanning boreal to tropical climates. Respiration was measured in the laboratory with standard temperatures, moisture and excess carbon substrate, to allow physiological and community effects to be detected independent from the influence of these abiotic controls. Patterns in respiration for soils collected across the climate gradient are consistent with evolutionary theory on physiological responses that compensate for positive effects of temperature on metabolism. Respiration rates per unit microbial biomass were as much as ...