Warming, permafrost thaw and increased nitrogen availability as drivers for plant composition and growth across the Tibetan Plateau
Permafrost-affected ecosystems are subject to warming and thawing, which can increase the availability of subsurface nitrogen (N) with consequences in otherwise N-limited tundra and alpine vegetation. Here, we quantify the extent of warming and permafrost thawing and the corresponding effects on nit...
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2023
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt58d455bw 2024-06-23T07:56:03+00:00 Warming, permafrost thaw and increased nitrogen availability as drivers for plant composition and growth across the Tibetan Plateau Yun, Hanbo Zhu, Qing Tang, Jing Zhang, Wenxin Chen, Deliang Ciais, Philippe Wu, Qingbai Elberling, Bo 2023-04-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/58d455bw unknown eScholarship, University of California qt58d455bw https://escholarship.org/uc/item/58d455bw CC-BY Environmental Sciences Soil Sciences Nitrogen Permafrost thawing Climate warming Tibetan plateau Biological Sciences Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences Agronomy & Agriculture article 2023 ftcdlib 2024-06-12T00:24:33Z Permafrost-affected ecosystems are subject to warming and thawing, which can increase the availability of subsurface nitrogen (N) with consequences in otherwise N-limited tundra and alpine vegetation. Here, we quantify the extent of warming and permafrost thawing and the corresponding effects on nitrogen availability and plant growth based on a 20-year survey across 14 sites on the Tibetan Plateau. The survey showed that most sites have been subject to warming and thawing and that the upper permafrost zone across all sites was rich in inorganic N, mainly as ammonium. We further explore the efficiency of plants to utilize 15N-labelled inorganic N over five years following 15N addition at the permafrost table far below the main root zone. The 15N experiment showed that deep-rooted plant species were able to utilize the labelled N. A SEM model suggests that changes in vegetation can be explained by both active layer warming and permafrost thawing and the associated changes in inorganic nitrogen availability. Our results highlight a feedback mechanism of climate warming, in which released plant-available N may favour deep-rooted plants. This can explain important changes in plant composition and growth across the sites on the Tibetan Plateau. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost Tundra University of California: eScholarship |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Environmental Sciences Soil Sciences Nitrogen Permafrost thawing Climate warming Tibetan plateau Biological Sciences Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences Agronomy & Agriculture |
spellingShingle |
Environmental Sciences Soil Sciences Nitrogen Permafrost thawing Climate warming Tibetan plateau Biological Sciences Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences Agronomy & Agriculture Yun, Hanbo Zhu, Qing Tang, Jing Zhang, Wenxin Chen, Deliang Ciais, Philippe Wu, Qingbai Elberling, Bo Warming, permafrost thaw and increased nitrogen availability as drivers for plant composition and growth across the Tibetan Plateau |
topic_facet |
Environmental Sciences Soil Sciences Nitrogen Permafrost thawing Climate warming Tibetan plateau Biological Sciences Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences Agronomy & Agriculture |
description |
Permafrost-affected ecosystems are subject to warming and thawing, which can increase the availability of subsurface nitrogen (N) with consequences in otherwise N-limited tundra and alpine vegetation. Here, we quantify the extent of warming and permafrost thawing and the corresponding effects on nitrogen availability and plant growth based on a 20-year survey across 14 sites on the Tibetan Plateau. The survey showed that most sites have been subject to warming and thawing and that the upper permafrost zone across all sites was rich in inorganic N, mainly as ammonium. We further explore the efficiency of plants to utilize 15N-labelled inorganic N over five years following 15N addition at the permafrost table far below the main root zone. The 15N experiment showed that deep-rooted plant species were able to utilize the labelled N. A SEM model suggests that changes in vegetation can be explained by both active layer warming and permafrost thawing and the associated changes in inorganic nitrogen availability. Our results highlight a feedback mechanism of climate warming, in which released plant-available N may favour deep-rooted plants. This can explain important changes in plant composition and growth across the sites on the Tibetan Plateau. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Yun, Hanbo Zhu, Qing Tang, Jing Zhang, Wenxin Chen, Deliang Ciais, Philippe Wu, Qingbai Elberling, Bo |
author_facet |
Yun, Hanbo Zhu, Qing Tang, Jing Zhang, Wenxin Chen, Deliang Ciais, Philippe Wu, Qingbai Elberling, Bo |
author_sort |
Yun, Hanbo |
title |
Warming, permafrost thaw and increased nitrogen availability as drivers for plant composition and growth across the Tibetan Plateau |
title_short |
Warming, permafrost thaw and increased nitrogen availability as drivers for plant composition and growth across the Tibetan Plateau |
title_full |
Warming, permafrost thaw and increased nitrogen availability as drivers for plant composition and growth across the Tibetan Plateau |
title_fullStr |
Warming, permafrost thaw and increased nitrogen availability as drivers for plant composition and growth across the Tibetan Plateau |
title_full_unstemmed |
Warming, permafrost thaw and increased nitrogen availability as drivers for plant composition and growth across the Tibetan Plateau |
title_sort |
warming, permafrost thaw and increased nitrogen availability as drivers for plant composition and growth across the tibetan plateau |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/58d455bw |
genre |
permafrost Tundra |
genre_facet |
permafrost Tundra |
op_relation |
qt58d455bw https://escholarship.org/uc/item/58d455bw |
op_rights |
CC-BY |
_version_ |
1802648892525772800 |