Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska
Abstract Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS)—thermal erosion of soil and vegetation after ground ice thaw—are increasing. Recovery of plant biomass after RTS is important for maintaining Arctic carbon (C) stocks and is regulated by nutrient availability for new plant growth. Many RTS are characterized b...
Published in: | Environmental Research Letters |
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crioppubl:10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 2024-06-02T08:01:43+00:00 Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska Buckeridge, Kate M McLaren, Jennie R Mack, Michelle C Schuur, Edward A G Schimel, Joshua National Science Foundation 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2/pdf unknown IOP Publishing http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://iopscience.iop.org/info/page/text-and-data-mining Environmental Research Letters volume 18, issue 6, page 065003 ISSN 1748-9326 journal-article 2023 crioppubl https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 2024-05-07T13:58:09Z Abstract Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS)—thermal erosion of soil and vegetation after ground ice thaw—are increasing. Recovery of plant biomass after RTS is important for maintaining Arctic carbon (C) stocks and is regulated by nutrient availability for new plant growth. Many RTS are characterized by verdant shrub growth mid-succession, atypical of the surrounding nutrient-limited tundra. Here, we investigated the potential for internal and external sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to support mid-successional shrub growth at three Alaskan RTS chronosequences. We assessed patterns of soil and microbial CNP, soil NP cycling rates and stocks, N inputs via biological N 2 -fixation, and thaw leachate over time after disturbance. We found a clear transfer of P stocks from mineral to organic soils with increasing site age, yet insufficient N from any one source to support observed shrub growth. Instead, multiple mechanisms may have contributed to mid-successional shrub growth, including sustained N-cycling with reduced plant biomass, N leaching from undisturbed tundra, uninvestigated sources of N 2 -fixation, and most promising given the large resource, deep mineral soil N stocks. These potential mechanisms of N supply are critical for the regulation of the Arctic C cycle in response to an increasingly common climate-driven disturbance. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Tundra Alaska IOP Publishing Arctic Environmental Research Letters 18 6 065003 |
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Abstract Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS)—thermal erosion of soil and vegetation after ground ice thaw—are increasing. Recovery of plant biomass after RTS is important for maintaining Arctic carbon (C) stocks and is regulated by nutrient availability for new plant growth. Many RTS are characterized by verdant shrub growth mid-succession, atypical of the surrounding nutrient-limited tundra. Here, we investigated the potential for internal and external sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to support mid-successional shrub growth at three Alaskan RTS chronosequences. We assessed patterns of soil and microbial CNP, soil NP cycling rates and stocks, N inputs via biological N 2 -fixation, and thaw leachate over time after disturbance. We found a clear transfer of P stocks from mineral to organic soils with increasing site age, yet insufficient N from any one source to support observed shrub growth. Instead, multiple mechanisms may have contributed to mid-successional shrub growth, including sustained N-cycling with reduced plant biomass, N leaching from undisturbed tundra, uninvestigated sources of N 2 -fixation, and most promising given the large resource, deep mineral soil N stocks. These potential mechanisms of N supply are critical for the regulation of the Arctic C cycle in response to an increasingly common climate-driven disturbance. |
author2 |
National Science Foundation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Buckeridge, Kate M McLaren, Jennie R Mack, Michelle C Schuur, Edward A G Schimel, Joshua |
spellingShingle |
Buckeridge, Kate M McLaren, Jennie R Mack, Michelle C Schuur, Edward A G Schimel, Joshua Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
author_facet |
Buckeridge, Kate M McLaren, Jennie R Mack, Michelle C Schuur, Edward A G Schimel, Joshua |
author_sort |
Buckeridge, Kate M |
title |
Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
title_short |
Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
title_full |
Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
title_sort |
missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in alaska |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2/pdf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Tundra Alaska |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters volume 18, issue 6, page 065003 ISSN 1748-9326 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://iopscience.iop.org/info/page/text-and-data-mining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
065003 |
_version_ |
1800746114016608256 |