ABSTRACT
High latitude ecosystems would be expected to experience the largest temperature changes if the Earth warms. Boreal forest soils, where most soil carbon accumulates in the moss layer and organic and humic horizons, are both an important source of and sink for atmospheric carbon (C). Therefore, responses of boreal forest soils to warming could have important effects on the interactions between climate change and terrestrial carbon storage. Understanding the present patterns of soil carbon distribution and the soil properties that covary with soil carbon is essential for projecting future changes.
