Extreme climatic events and environmental disturbances such as droughts, floods, wildfires, heatwaves, and permafrost thaw are occurring with increasing frequency and intensity, profoundly altering terrestrial biogeochemical cycles. These events can disrupt soil carbon dynamics, nutrient cycling and redox processes, affecting ecosystem functioning. They may have long-lasting legacy effects that feed back to the climate system. At the same time, adaptive management strategies are urgently needed to mitigate ecosystem vulnerability, enhance soil and ecosystem resilience, and sustain critical biogeochemical functions under future extremes.
This session invites contributions that explore how biogeochemical cycles respond to, and recover from, extreme events across spatial and temporal scales. We welcome studies using field observations, laboratory experiments, novel analytical techniques, modeling approaches, data synthesis, or innovative management interventions. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Impacts of wildfire on carbon and nutrient cycling, soil chemistry, and recovery trajectories
• Flooding and waterlogging effects on redox processes, mineral transformations, and element mobilization or sequestration
• Drought-induced changes in soil structure, microbial activity, and decomposition dynamics
• Permafrost thaw and the release, transformation, and fate of aged carbon and nutrients
• Adaptive management strategies to enhance the resilience of ecosystems and biogeochemical processes under climatic extremes
By bringing together interdisciplinary perspectives, this session aims to advance mechanistic understanding of biogeochemical responses and feedbacks under extreme conditions and to identify adaptive management options that strengthen ecosystem resilience in a rapidly changing world.