Impacts of abiotic and biotic factors on tundra productivity near Utqiaġvik, Alaska

Abstract Earlier snowmelt, warmer temperatures and herbivory are among the factors that influence high-latitude tundra productivity near the town of Utqiaġvik in northern Alaska. However, our understanding of the potential interactions between these factors is limited. MODIS observations provide cov...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Research Letters
Main Authors: Zhang, Qingyuan, Zhang, Xuesong, Lara, Mark J, Li, Zhengpeng, Xiao, Jingfeng, Zhao, Kaiguang, Hu, Tongxi
Other Authors: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: IOP Publishing 2023
Subjects:
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
General Environmental Science
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Arctic
Tundra
Alaska
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acf7d6
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acf7d6
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/acf7d6/pdf
Description
Summary:Abstract Earlier snowmelt, warmer temperatures and herbivory are among the factors that influence high-latitude tundra productivity near the town of Utqiaġvik in northern Alaska. However, our understanding of the potential interactions between these factors is limited. MODIS observations provide cover fractions of vegetation, snow, standing water, and soil, and fractional absorption of photosynthetically active radiation by canopy chlorophyll (fAPAR chl ) per pixel. Here, we evaluated a recent time-period (2001–2014) that the tundra experienced large interannual variability in vegetation productivity metrics (i.e. fAPAR chl and APAR chl ), which was explainable by both abiotic and biotic factors. We found earlier snowmelt to increase soil and vegetation cover, and productivity in June, while warmer temperatures significantly increased monthly productivity. However, abiotic factors failed to explain stark decreases in productivity during August of 2008, which coincided with a severe lemming outbreak. MODIS observations found this tundra ecosystem to completely recover two years later, resulting in elevated productivity. This study highlights the potential roles of both climate and herbivory in modulating the interannual variability of remotely retrieved plant productivity metrics in Arctic coastal tundra ecosystems.

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