Rapid vegetation succession and coupled permafrost dynamics in arctic thaw ponds in the Siberian lowland tundra ...

• Main Author: R.I. Magnusson
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: DANS Data Station Physical and Technical Sciences 2019
• Subjects: Arctic; permafrost; Thermokarst; Tundra; Siberia
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17026/dans-29c-tdq5; https://phys-techsciences.datastations.nl/citation?persistentId=doi:10.17026/dans-29c-tdq5

Thermokarst features, such as thaw ponds, are hotspots for methane emissions in warming lowland tundra. Presently we lack quantitative knowledge on the formation rates of formation of thaw ponds and subsequent vegetation succession, necessary to determine their net contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. This study set out to identify development trajectories and formation rates approximate rates of of small-scale ( 1 km2) arctic thaw ponds in north-eastern Siberia. We selected 40 ponds of different age classes based on a time-series of satellite images and measured vegetation composition, microtopography, water table and active layer thicknessthaw depth in the field and measured age of recruiting colonizing shrubs in thaw ponds using dendrochronology. We found that young thaw ponds are characterised by dead shrubs, while older ponds show rapid paludification through colonization bycontain mostly sedges and Sphagnum moss. While dead shrubs and open water are associated with permafrost degradation (lower ...