Soils rich in biological ice-nucleating particles abound in ice-nucleating macromolecules likely produced by fungi
<p>Soil organic matter carries ice-nucleating particles (INPs) the origin of which is hard to define and that are active at slight supercooling. The discovery and characterization of INPs produced by the widespread soil fungus <i>Mortierella alpina</i> permits a more targeted i...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2018-07-01
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| Series: | Biogeosciences |
| Online Access: | https://www.biogeosciences.net/15/4381/2018/bg-15-4381-2018.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Soil organic
matter carries ice-nucleating particles (INPs) the origin of which is hard to
define and that are active at slight supercooling. The discovery and
characterization of INPs produced by the widespread soil fungus
<i>Mortierella alpina</i> permits a more targeted investigation of the
likely origin of INPs in soils. We searched for INPs with characteristics
similar to those reported for <i>M. alpina</i> in 20 soil samples from four
areas in the northern midlatitudes and one area in the tropics. In the
15 samples where we could detect such INPs, they constituted between 1 and
94 % (median 11 %) of all INPs active at −10 °C or warmer
(INP<sub>−10</sub>) associated with soil particles < 5 µm. Their
concentration increased overproportionately with the concentration of
INP<sub>−10</sub> in soil and seems to be greater in colder climates. Large
regional differences and prevalently high concentrations allow us to make
inferences regarding their potential role in the atmosphere and the soil.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1726-4170 1726-4189 |