Eight Mile Lake Research Watershed, Thaw Gradient: Annual decomposition of a common substrate, 2004-2018

• Main Authors: Pegoraro, Elaine F., Hicks-Pries, Caitlin Elizabeth, Schuur, Edward A.G., Bonanza Creek LTER
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Environmental Data Initiative 2020
• Subjects: Arctic; alaska range; permafrost; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/89fbad90fb5b3738b14657af8b4ff941; https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?packageid=knb-lter-bnz.507.17

In this larger study, we are asking the question: Is old carbon that comprises the bulk of the soil organic matter pool released in response to thawing of permafrost? We are answering this question by using a combination of field and laboratory experiments to measure radiocarbon isotope ratios in soil organic matter, soil respiration, and decomposition in tundra ecosystems. The objective of these proposed measurements is to develop a mechanistic understanding of the SOM sources contributing to C losses following permafrost thawing. We are making these measurements at an established tundra field site near Healy, Alaska in the foothills of the Alaska Range. Field measurements center on a natural experiment where permafrost has been observed to warm and thaw over the past several decades. This area represents a gradient of sites each with a different degree of change due to permafrost thawing. As such, this area is unique for addressing questions at the time and spatial scales relevant for change in arctic ecosystems. This data set is annual (September through September) mass loss of cellulose filter paper at 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depths in the soil profile in sites with minimal, moderate, and extensive degrees of permafrost thaw.