Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale
Bryophyte and lichen cover on the forest floor at high latitudes exerts an insulating effect on the ground. In this way, the cover decreases mean annual soil temperature and can protect permafrost soil. Climate change, however, may change bryophyte and lichen cover, with effects on the permafrost st...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2018
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2291-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/2291/2016/ |
id |
ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tc48609 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tc48609 2023-05-15T17:57:21+02:00 Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale Porada, Philipp Ekici, Altug Beer, Christian 2018-09-27 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2291-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/2291/2016/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-10-2291-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/2291/2016/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2018 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2291-2016 2020-07-20T16:23:58Z Bryophyte and lichen cover on the forest floor at high latitudes exerts an insulating effect on the ground. In this way, the cover decreases mean annual soil temperature and can protect permafrost soil. Climate change, however, may change bryophyte and lichen cover, with effects on the permafrost state and related carbon balance. It is, therefore, crucial to predict how the bryophyte and lichen cover will react to environmental change at the global scale. To date, current global land surface models contain only empirical representations of the bryophyte and lichen cover, which makes it impractical to predict the future state and function of bryophytes and lichens. For this reason, we integrate a process-based model of bryophyte and lichen growth into the global land surface model JSBACH (Jena Scheme for Biosphere–Atmosphere Coupling in Hamburg). The model simulates bryophyte and lichen cover on upland sites. Wetlands are not included. We take into account the dynamic nature of the thermal properties of the bryophyte and lichen cover and their relation to environmental factors. Subsequently, we compare simulations with and without bryophyte and lichen cover to quantify the insulating effect of the organisms on the soil. We find an average cooling effect of the bryophyte and lichen cover of 2.7 K on temperature in the topsoil for the region north of 50° N under the current climate. Locally, a cooling of up to 5.7 K may be reached. Moreover, we show that using a simple, empirical representation of the bryophyte and lichen cover without dynamic properties only results in an average cooling of around 0.5 K. This suggests that (a) bryophytes and lichens have a significant impact on soil temperature in high-latitude ecosystems and (b) a process-based description of their thermal properties is necessary for a realistic representation of the cooling effect. The advanced land surface scheme, including a dynamic bryophyte and lichen model, will be the basis for an improved future projection of land–atmosphere heat and carbon exchange. Text permafrost Copernicus Publications: E-Journals The Cryosphere 10 5 2291 2315 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
op_collection_id |
ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
Bryophyte and lichen cover on the forest floor at high latitudes exerts an insulating effect on the ground. In this way, the cover decreases mean annual soil temperature and can protect permafrost soil. Climate change, however, may change bryophyte and lichen cover, with effects on the permafrost state and related carbon balance. It is, therefore, crucial to predict how the bryophyte and lichen cover will react to environmental change at the global scale. To date, current global land surface models contain only empirical representations of the bryophyte and lichen cover, which makes it impractical to predict the future state and function of bryophytes and lichens. For this reason, we integrate a process-based model of bryophyte and lichen growth into the global land surface model JSBACH (Jena Scheme for Biosphere–Atmosphere Coupling in Hamburg). The model simulates bryophyte and lichen cover on upland sites. Wetlands are not included. We take into account the dynamic nature of the thermal properties of the bryophyte and lichen cover and their relation to environmental factors. Subsequently, we compare simulations with and without bryophyte and lichen cover to quantify the insulating effect of the organisms on the soil. We find an average cooling effect of the bryophyte and lichen cover of 2.7 K on temperature in the topsoil for the region north of 50° N under the current climate. Locally, a cooling of up to 5.7 K may be reached. Moreover, we show that using a simple, empirical representation of the bryophyte and lichen cover without dynamic properties only results in an average cooling of around 0.5 K. This suggests that (a) bryophytes and lichens have a significant impact on soil temperature in high-latitude ecosystems and (b) a process-based description of their thermal properties is necessary for a realistic representation of the cooling effect. The advanced land surface scheme, including a dynamic bryophyte and lichen model, will be the basis for an improved future projection of land–atmosphere heat and carbon exchange. |
format |
Text |
author |
Porada, Philipp Ekici, Altug Beer, Christian |
spellingShingle |
Porada, Philipp Ekici, Altug Beer, Christian Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale |
author_facet |
Porada, Philipp Ekici, Altug Beer, Christian |
author_sort |
Porada, Philipp |
title |
Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale |
title_short |
Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale |
title_full |
Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale |
title_fullStr |
Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale |
title_sort |
effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2291-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/2291/2016/ |
genre |
permafrost |
genre_facet |
permafrost |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-10-2291-2016 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/10/2291/2016/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2291-2016 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
2291 |
op_container_end_page |
2315 |
_version_ |
1766165760418250752 |