Response of Alpine Timberline to Permafrost Degradation on Changbai Mountain

• Published in: Sustainability
• Main Authors: Wei Shan, Guangchao Xu, Yan Wang, Lisha Qiu, Ying Guo, Chengcheng Zhang
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2023
• Subjects: alpine timberline; permafrost; Changbai Mountain; remote sensing; climate change; Environmental effects of industries and plants; TD194-195; Renewable energy sources; TJ807-830; Environmental sciences; GE1-350
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416768; https://doaj.org/article/6e48e758d9b24e6d98c6ee4d0ea404e5

In the permafrost zone, the vegetation growth condition is closely related to the permafrost occurrence state. Changbai Mountain is the highest peak in Northeast China and is also a permafrost distribution area, where the vegetation shows an obvious vertical distribution pattern, and the alpine timberline has a clear boundary. The intersecting zone of alpine timberline is an ecologically fragile area that can be used as an external signal amplifier and is an important site for monitoring climate change. In this study, the surface frost number and alpine timberline in the Changbai Mountain area were analyzed through combining ground and remote-sensing data, using the freezing number model and support vector machine method. The results show that the distribution characteristics of alpine timberline and permafrost at elevation are correlated, there is a response mechanism of alpine timberline to the degradation of permafrost, and the upward migration rate of alpine timberline has increased in the last 20 years. The continuous degradation of permafrost will change the environment of vegetation growth, which, in turn, will affect the global carbon cycle process. Focusing on the state of permafrost will help us to understand climate change in depth, and we can respond to a series of impacts caused by ecological changes in cold regions in advance.