The soil carbon dynamics during the thawing under Alaska boreal forest

The carbon dynamic during the thawing of frozen soils is an important process determining the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) balance in northern high-latitude ecosystems. In this study, an incubation experiment was conducted for a frozen soil core collected in a black spruce forest of Interior Alaska. The core of ground surface to upper permafrost in 90 cm depth was vertically grouped into three layers (top, middle, and bottom layers). Then, twelve soils from three layers (i.e. four soils per a layer) were incubated for 3 weeks, with the measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes. During the incubation, temperature was weekly changed from 0 to 5 then 10 °C.