Localized Vegetation, Soil Moisture, and Ice Content Offset Permafrost Degradation under Climate Warming

• Published in: Geosciences
• Main Authors: Gleb E. Oblogov, Alexander A. Vasiliev, Dmitry A. Streletskiy, Nikolay I. Shiklomanov, Kelsey E. Nyland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2023
• Subjects: permafrost; active layer; climate change; monitoring; northwest Russian Arctic; Geology; QE1-996.5; Arctic; Yamal Peninsula; Active layer thickness; Climate change; Ice; Tundra; Siberia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13050129; https://doaj.org/article/610ae5df62d441b69da6e19eb4ac7750

Rapid Arctic warming is expected to result in widespread permafrost degradation. However, observations show that site-specific conditions (vegetation and soils) may offset the reaction of permafrost to climate change. This paper summarizes 43 years of interannual seasonal thaw observations from tundra landscapes surrounding the Marre-Sale on the west coast of the Yamal Peninsula, northwest Siberia. This robust dataset includes landscape-specific climate, active layer thickness, soil moisture, and vegetation observations at multiple scales. Long-term trends from these hierarchically scaled observations indicate that drained landscapes exhibit the most pronounced responses to changing climatic conditions, while moist and wet tundra landscapes exhibit decreasing active layer thickness, and river floodplain landscapes do not show changes in the active layer. The slow increase in seasonal thaw depth despite significant warming observed over the last four decades on the Yamal Peninsula can be explained by thickening moss covers and ground surface subsidence as the transient layer (ice-rich upper permafrost soil horizon) thaws and compacts. The uneven proliferation of specific vegetation communities, primarily mosses, is significantly contributing to spatial variability observed in active layer dynamics. Based on these findings, we recommend that regional permafrost assessments employ a mean landscape-scale active layer thickness that weights the proportions of different landscape types.