The decomposition of thawing permafrost organic matter (OM) to the greenhouse gases (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane forms a positive feedback to global climate change. Data on in situ GHG fluxes from thawing permafrost OM are scarce and OM degradability is largely unknown, causing high uncertainties in the permafrost‐carbon climate feedback. We combined in situ CO₂ and methane flux measurements at an abrupt permafrost thaw feature with laboratory incubations and dynamic modeling to quantify annual CO₂ release from thawing permafrost OM, estimate its in situ degradability and evaluate the explanatory power of incubation experiments. In July 2016 and 2019, CO₂ fluxes ranged between 0.24 and 2.6 g CO₂‐C m⁻² d⁻¹. Methane fluxes were low, which coincided with the absence of active methanogens in the Pleistocene permafrost. CO₂ fluxes were lower three years after initial thaw after normalizing these fluxes to thawed carbon, indicating the depletion of labile carbon. Higher CO₂ fluxes from thawing Pleistocene permafrost than from Holocene permafrost indicate OM preservation for millennia and give evidence that microbial activity in the permafrost was not substantial. Short‐term incubations overestimated in situ CO₂ fluxes but underestimated methane fluxes. Two independent models simulated median annual CO₂ fluxes of 160 and 184 g CO₂‐C m⁻² from the thaw slump, which include 25%–31% CO₂ emissions during winter. Annual CO₂ fluxes represent 0.8% of the carbon pool thawed in the surface soil. Our results demonstrate the potential of abrupt thaw processes to transform the tundra from carbon neutral into a substantial GHG source.

Ice–rich Pleistocene permafrost deposits (Yedoma) store large amounts of nitrogen (N) and are susceptible to rapid thaw. In this study, we assess whether eroding Yedoma deposits are potential sources of N and gaseous carbon (C) losses. Therefore, we determined aerobic net ammonification and nitrification, as well as anaerobic production of nitrous oxide (N₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and methane (CH₄) in laboratory incubations. Samples were collected from non-vegetated and revegetated slump floor (SF) and thaw mound (TM) soils of a retrogressive thaw slump in the Lena River Delta of Eastern Siberia. We found high nitrate concentrations (up to 110 µg N (g DW)⁻¹) within the growing season, a faster transformation of organic N to nitrate, and high N₂O production (up to 217 ng N₂O-N (g DW)⁻¹ day⁻¹) in revegetated thaw mounds. The slump floor was low in nitrate and did not produce N₂O under anaerobic conditions, but produced the most CO₂ (up to 7 µg CO₂-C (g DW)⁻¹ day⁻¹) and CH₄ (up to 65 ng CH₄-C (g DW)⁻¹ day⁻¹). Nitrate additions showed that denitrification was substrate limited in the slump floor. Nitrate limitation was rather caused by field conditions (moisture, pH) than by microbial functional limitation since nitrification rates were positive under laboratory conditions. Our results emphasize the relevance of considering landscape processes, geomorphology, and soil origin in order to identify hotspots of high N availability, as well as C and N losses. High N availability is likely to have an impact on carbon cycling, but to what extent needs further investigation.

Arctic climate warming is causing permafrost thaw and erosion, which may lead to enhanced inputs of terrestrial organic matter into Arctic Ocean shelf sediments. Degradation of terrestrial organic matter in sediments might contribute to carbon dioxide production and bottom water acidification. Yet, the degradability of organic matter in shallow Arctic Ocean sediments, as well as the contribution of terrestrial input, is poorly quantified. Here, potential organic matter degradation rates were investigated for 16 surface sediments from the Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and the western East Siberian Sea and compared with physicochemical sediment properties including molecular biomarkers, stable and radioactive carbon isotopes, and grain size. Aerobic oxygen and carbon dioxide fluxes, measured in laboratory incubations of sediment slurry, showed high spatial variability and correlated significantly with organic carbon content as well as with the amount and degradation state of terrestrial organic matter. The dependency on terrestrial organic matter declined with increasing distance from land, indicating that the presence of terrestrial organic matter is likely a constraining factor for organic matter degradation in shallow shelf seas. However, sediment oxygen consumption rates, measured in incubations of intact sediment cores, also exhibited substantial spatial variability but were not related to organic carbon content or terrestrial influence. Oxygen consumption of intact sediments may be more strongly influenced by in situ redox conditions. Together with previous observations, our findings support that terrestrial organic matter is easily degradable in shelf sea sediments and might substantially contribute to aerobic carbon dioxide production and oxygen consumption.

Permafrost soils constitute a large part of the terrestrial carbon pool that is vulnerable to future climate warming. Continued warming of the low Arctic is also leading to the encroachment of large shrubs and trees into tundra ecosystems with effects on microbial community composition, organic matter cycling and physical soil parameters. To date it is still largely unknown how such vegetation shifts affect soil organic matter cycling in permafrost soils on short and long timescales. Here, we investigated differences in soil organic matter properties under graminoid tussock ( Eriophorum vaginatum ), birch shrub ( Betula glandulosa ), spruce tree ( Picea mariana ) and alder shrub ( Alnus viridis ) vegetation by density fractionation and subsequent measurements of organic carbon, total nitrogen, δ ¹³ C, and lignin phenol biomarker contents. Particulate organic matter constituted 1.3–11.3% of soil weight and stored between 29 and 89% of the total soil lignin, 12–60% of organic carbon and 6–40% of total nitrogen. The contribution of particulate organic matter generally decreased with soil depth. Soils under Alnus viridis showed significantly higher amounts of particulate organic matter and stored more lignin, organic carbon and total nitrogen in particulate form in all soil depths. Sites dominated by Eriophorum vaginatum exhibited higher lignin content and lower degradation state in the subsoil, which was associated with water saturation and low active layer depth. We conclude that the effect of vegetation changes on soil organic matter cycling is dependent on plant species with the encroachment of Alnus viridis shrubs potentially increasing the deposition of particulate organic matter into permafrost soils.