Soil organic carbon stabilization in permafrost peatlands

In permafrost peatlands, the degradation of permafrost soil can raise soil temperature and alter moisture conditions, which increases the rate of loss of soil organic carbon (SOC). Here we selected three typical permafrost types that have very different active layer thicknesses but with soil originating from the same vegetation and which exist under comparable climatic conditions in the Da Xing’an mountain range: continuous permafrost, island permafrost, and island melting permafrost. To quantify the relative importance of control elements on SOC stabilization in these different permafrost types, we used correlation analysis to assess the relationship between organic carbon, physical and chemical properties and microorganisms, and explored the contribution of these factors to the accumulation of organic carbon. This study shows that the interaction between clay or silt, iron oxides and microorganisms have an important influence on the stability of organic carbon in permafrost peatlands.