Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements
Warming of the Arctic can stimulate microbial decomposition and release of permafrost soil carbon (C) as greenhouse gases, and thus has the potential to influence climate change. At the same time, plant growth can be stimulated and offset C release. This study presents a 15-year time series comprisi...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
eScholarship, University of California
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7vc4s2hf |
id |
ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7vc4s2hf |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt7vc4s2hf 2023-06-18T03:39:19+02:00 Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements Schuur, Edward AG Bracho, Rosvel Celis, Gerardo Belshe, E Fay Ebert, Chris Ledman, Justin Mauritz, Marguerite Pegoraro, Elaine F Plaza, César Rodenhizer, Heidi Romanovsky, Vladimir Schädel, Christina Schirokauer, David Taylor, Meghan Vogel, Jason G Webb, Elizabeth E 2021-06-01 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7vc4s2hf unknown eScholarship, University of California qt7vc4s2hf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7vc4s2hf public Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences, vol 126, iss 6 Climate Action Arctic carbon eddy covariance permafrost tundra Geophysics article 2021 ftcdlib 2023-06-05T17:58:18Z Warming of the Arctic can stimulate microbial decomposition and release of permafrost soil carbon (C) as greenhouse gases, and thus has the potential to influence climate change. At the same time, plant growth can be stimulated and offset C release. This study presents a 15-year time series comprising chamber and eddy covariance measurements of net ecosystem C exchange in a tundra ecosystem in Alaska where permafrost has been degrading due to regional warming. The site was a carbon dioxide source to the atmosphere with a cumulative total loss of 781.6g C m−2 over the study period. Both gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Reco) were already likely higher than historical levels such that increases in Reco losses overwhelmed GPP gains in most years. This shift to a net C source to the atmosphere likely started in the early 1990s when permafrost was observed to warm and thaw at the site. Shifts in the plant community occur more slowly and are likely to constrain future GPP increases as compared to more rapid shifts in the microbial community that contribute to increased Reco. Observed rates suggest that cumulative net soil C loss of 4.18–10.00kg C m−2—8%–20% of the current active layer soil C pool—could occur from 2020 to the end of the century. This amount of permafrost C loss to the atmosphere represents a significant accelerating feedback to climate change if it were to occur at a similar magnitude across the permafrost region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change permafrost Tundra Alaska University of California: eScholarship Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Climate Action Arctic carbon eddy covariance permafrost tundra Geophysics |
spellingShingle |
Climate Action Arctic carbon eddy covariance permafrost tundra Geophysics Schuur, Edward AG Bracho, Rosvel Celis, Gerardo Belshe, E Fay Ebert, Chris Ledman, Justin Mauritz, Marguerite Pegoraro, Elaine F Plaza, César Rodenhizer, Heidi Romanovsky, Vladimir Schädel, Christina Schirokauer, David Taylor, Meghan Vogel, Jason G Webb, Elizabeth E Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
topic_facet |
Climate Action Arctic carbon eddy covariance permafrost tundra Geophysics |
description |
Warming of the Arctic can stimulate microbial decomposition and release of permafrost soil carbon (C) as greenhouse gases, and thus has the potential to influence climate change. At the same time, plant growth can be stimulated and offset C release. This study presents a 15-year time series comprising chamber and eddy covariance measurements of net ecosystem C exchange in a tundra ecosystem in Alaska where permafrost has been degrading due to regional warming. The site was a carbon dioxide source to the atmosphere with a cumulative total loss of 781.6g C m−2 over the study period. Both gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Reco) were already likely higher than historical levels such that increases in Reco losses overwhelmed GPP gains in most years. This shift to a net C source to the atmosphere likely started in the early 1990s when permafrost was observed to warm and thaw at the site. Shifts in the plant community occur more slowly and are likely to constrain future GPP increases as compared to more rapid shifts in the microbial community that contribute to increased Reco. Observed rates suggest that cumulative net soil C loss of 4.18–10.00kg C m−2—8%–20% of the current active layer soil C pool—could occur from 2020 to the end of the century. This amount of permafrost C loss to the atmosphere represents a significant accelerating feedback to climate change if it were to occur at a similar magnitude across the permafrost region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Schuur, Edward AG Bracho, Rosvel Celis, Gerardo Belshe, E Fay Ebert, Chris Ledman, Justin Mauritz, Marguerite Pegoraro, Elaine F Plaza, César Rodenhizer, Heidi Romanovsky, Vladimir Schädel, Christina Schirokauer, David Taylor, Meghan Vogel, Jason G Webb, Elizabeth E |
author_facet |
Schuur, Edward AG Bracho, Rosvel Celis, Gerardo Belshe, E Fay Ebert, Chris Ledman, Justin Mauritz, Marguerite Pegoraro, Elaine F Plaza, César Rodenhizer, Heidi Romanovsky, Vladimir Schädel, Christina Schirokauer, David Taylor, Meghan Vogel, Jason G Webb, Elizabeth E |
author_sort |
Schuur, Edward AG |
title |
Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
title_short |
Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
title_full |
Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
title_fullStr |
Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
title_sort |
tundra underlain by thawing permafrost persistently emits carbon to the atmosphere over 15 years of measurements |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7vc4s2hf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change permafrost Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change permafrost Tundra Alaska |
op_source |
Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences, vol 126, iss 6 |
op_relation |
qt7vc4s2hf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7vc4s2hf |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1769004085981216768 |