Carbon response of tundra ecosystems to advancing greenup and snowmelt in Alaska

Abstract The ongoing disproportionate increases in temperature and precipitation over the Arctic region may greatly alter the latitudinal gradients in greenup and snowmelt timings as well as associated carbon dynamics of tundra ecosystems. Here we use remotely-sensed and ground-based datasets and mo...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature Communications
Main Authors: Kim, JiHyun, Kim, Yeonjoo, Zona, Donatella, Oechel, Walter, Park, Sang-Jong, Lee, Bang-Yong, Yi, Yonghong, Erb, Angela, Schaaf, Crystal L.
Other Authors: National Research Foundation of Korea, Korea Polar Research Institute
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26876-7
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26876-7.pdf
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26876-7
Description
Summary:Abstract The ongoing disproportionate increases in temperature and precipitation over the Arctic region may greatly alter the latitudinal gradients in greenup and snowmelt timings as well as associated carbon dynamics of tundra ecosystems. Here we use remotely-sensed and ground-based datasets and model results embedding snowmelt timing in phenology at seven tundra flux tower sites in Alaska during 2001–2018, showing that the carbon response to early greenup or delayed snowmelt varies greatly depending upon local climatic limits. Increases in net ecosystem productivity (NEP) due to early greenup were amplified at the higher latitudes where temperature and water strongly colimit vegetation growth, while NEP decreases due to delayed snowmelt were alleviated by a relief of water stress. Given the high likelihood of more frequent delayed snowmelt at higher latitudes, this study highlights the importance of understanding the role of snowmelt timing in vegetation growth and terrestrial carbon cycles across warming Arctic ecosystems.