Impacts of active retrogressive thaw slumps on vegetation, soil, and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in the Canadian High Arctic
Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) are permafrost disturbances common on the Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Canada. During the 2013 growing season, three different RTS were studied to investigate the impact on vegetation composition, soil, and growing season net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 by...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0ce1e92d811947808d696e61180a4022 2023-05-15T14:23:43+02:00 Impacts of active retrogressive thaw slumps on vegetation, soil, and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in the Canadian High Arctic Alison E. Cassidy Andreas Christen Greg H.R. Henry 2017-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0034 https://doaj.org/article/0ce1e92d811947808d696e61180a4022 EN FR eng fre Canadian Science Publishing https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0034 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2016-0034 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/0ce1e92d811947808d696e61180a4022 Arctic Science, Vol 3, Iss 2, Pp 179-202 (2017) eddy covariance ellesmere island fosheim peninsula net ecosystem exchange permafrost disturbance retrogressive thaw slump tundra ecosystem Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0034 2022-12-31T14:49:26Z Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) are permafrost disturbances common on the Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Canada. During the 2013 growing season, three different RTS were studied to investigate the impact on vegetation composition, soil, and growing season net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 by comparing to the adjacent undisturbed tundra. Eddy covariance and static chamber measurements were used to determine NEE and ecosystem respiration (Re), respectively. Vegetation cover was significantly lower in all active disturbances, relative to the surrounding tundra, and this affected the overall impact of disturbance on CO2 fluxes. Disturbances were characterized by greater Re compared to surrounding undisturbed tundra. Over the mid-growing season (34 days), eddy covariance NEE measurements indicated that there was greater net CO2 uptake in undisturbed versus disturbed tundra. At one site, the undisturbed tundra was a weak net sink (−0.05 ± 0.02 g C m−2 day−1), while the disturbed tundra acted as a weak net source (+0.07 ± 0.04 g C m−2 day−1). At the other site, the NEE of the undisturbed tundra was −0.20 ± 0.03 g C m−2 day−1 (sink), while the disturbed tundra still sequestered CO2, but less than the undisturbed tundra (NEE = −0.05 ± 0.04 g C m−2 day−1). Two of the RTS exhibited average soil temperatures that were greater compared to the surrounding undisturbed tundra. In one case, the opposite effect was observed. All RTS exhibited elevated soil moisture (+14%) and nutrient availability (specifically nitrogen) relative to the undisturbed tundra. We conclude that RTS, although limited in space, have profound environmental impacts by reducing vegetation coverage, increasing wet soil conditions, and altering NEE during the growing season in the High Arctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Fosheim Peninsula permafrost Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Ellesmere Island Canada Fosheim Peninsula ENVELOPE(-83.749,-83.749,79.669,79.669) Arctic Science 3 2 179 202 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English French |
topic |
eddy covariance ellesmere island fosheim peninsula net ecosystem exchange permafrost disturbance retrogressive thaw slump tundra ecosystem Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
spellingShingle |
eddy covariance ellesmere island fosheim peninsula net ecosystem exchange permafrost disturbance retrogressive thaw slump tundra ecosystem Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 Alison E. Cassidy Andreas Christen Greg H.R. Henry Impacts of active retrogressive thaw slumps on vegetation, soil, and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in the Canadian High Arctic |
topic_facet |
eddy covariance ellesmere island fosheim peninsula net ecosystem exchange permafrost disturbance retrogressive thaw slump tundra ecosystem Environmental sciences GE1-350 Environmental engineering TA170-171 |
description |
Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) are permafrost disturbances common on the Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Canada. During the 2013 growing season, three different RTS were studied to investigate the impact on vegetation composition, soil, and growing season net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 by comparing to the adjacent undisturbed tundra. Eddy covariance and static chamber measurements were used to determine NEE and ecosystem respiration (Re), respectively. Vegetation cover was significantly lower in all active disturbances, relative to the surrounding tundra, and this affected the overall impact of disturbance on CO2 fluxes. Disturbances were characterized by greater Re compared to surrounding undisturbed tundra. Over the mid-growing season (34 days), eddy covariance NEE measurements indicated that there was greater net CO2 uptake in undisturbed versus disturbed tundra. At one site, the undisturbed tundra was a weak net sink (−0.05 ± 0.02 g C m−2 day−1), while the disturbed tundra acted as a weak net source (+0.07 ± 0.04 g C m−2 day−1). At the other site, the NEE of the undisturbed tundra was −0.20 ± 0.03 g C m−2 day−1 (sink), while the disturbed tundra still sequestered CO2, but less than the undisturbed tundra (NEE = −0.05 ± 0.04 g C m−2 day−1). Two of the RTS exhibited average soil temperatures that were greater compared to the surrounding undisturbed tundra. In one case, the opposite effect was observed. All RTS exhibited elevated soil moisture (+14%) and nutrient availability (specifically nitrogen) relative to the undisturbed tundra. We conclude that RTS, although limited in space, have profound environmental impacts by reducing vegetation coverage, increasing wet soil conditions, and altering NEE during the growing season in the High Arctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Alison E. Cassidy Andreas Christen Greg H.R. Henry |
author_facet |
Alison E. Cassidy Andreas Christen Greg H.R. Henry |
author_sort |
Alison E. Cassidy |
title |
Impacts of active retrogressive thaw slumps on vegetation, soil, and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in the Canadian High Arctic |
title_short |
Impacts of active retrogressive thaw slumps on vegetation, soil, and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in the Canadian High Arctic |
title_full |
Impacts of active retrogressive thaw slumps on vegetation, soil, and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in the Canadian High Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Impacts of active retrogressive thaw slumps on vegetation, soil, and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in the Canadian High Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impacts of active retrogressive thaw slumps on vegetation, soil, and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in the Canadian High Arctic |
title_sort |
impacts of active retrogressive thaw slumps on vegetation, soil, and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in the canadian high arctic |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0034 https://doaj.org/article/0ce1e92d811947808d696e61180a4022 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-83.749,-83.749,79.669,79.669) |
geographic |
Arctic Ellesmere Island Canada Fosheim Peninsula |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Ellesmere Island Canada Fosheim Peninsula |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Fosheim Peninsula permafrost Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ellesmere Island Fosheim Peninsula permafrost Tundra |
op_source |
Arctic Science, Vol 3, Iss 2, Pp 179-202 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0034 https://doaj.org/toc/2368-7460 doi:10.1139/as-2016-0034 2368-7460 https://doaj.org/article/0ce1e92d811947808d696e61180a4022 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2016-0034 |
container_title |
Arctic Science |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
179 |
op_container_end_page |
202 |
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1766296200026259456 |