Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska
Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS)—thermal erosion of soil and vegetation after ground ice thaw—are increasing. Recovery of plant biomass after RTS is important for maintaining Arctic carbon (C) stocks and is regulated by nutrient availability for new plant growth. Many RTS are characterized by verdant...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 https://doaj.org/article/9adbc29173d340c69ba895b94fc1e7af |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9adbc29173d340c69ba895b94fc1e7af 2023-09-05T13:17:12+02:00 Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska Kate M Buckeridge Jennie R McLaren Michelle C Mack Edward A G Schuur Joshua Schimel 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 https://doaj.org/article/9adbc29173d340c69ba895b94fc1e7af EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/9adbc29173d340c69ba895b94fc1e7af Environmental Research Letters, Vol 18, Iss 6, p 065003 (2023) ecosystem succession soil carbon soil nitrogen cycling soil phosphorus thermokarst Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 2023-08-13T00:36:54Z Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS)—thermal erosion of soil and vegetation after ground ice thaw—are increasing. Recovery of plant biomass after RTS is important for maintaining Arctic carbon (C) stocks and is regulated by nutrient availability for new plant growth. Many RTS are characterized by verdant shrub growth mid-succession, atypical of the surrounding nutrient-limited tundra. Here, we investigated the potential for internal and external sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to support mid-successional shrub growth at three Alaskan RTS chronosequences. We assessed patterns of soil and microbial CNP, soil NP cycling rates and stocks, N inputs via biological N _2 -fixation, and thaw leachate over time after disturbance. We found a clear transfer of P stocks from mineral to organic soils with increasing site age, yet insufficient N from any one source to support observed shrub growth. Instead, multiple mechanisms may have contributed to mid-successional shrub growth, including sustained N-cycling with reduced plant biomass, N leaching from undisturbed tundra, uninvestigated sources of N _2 -fixation, and most promising given the large resource, deep mineral soil N stocks. These potential mechanisms of N supply are critical for the regulation of the Arctic C cycle in response to an increasingly common climate-driven disturbance. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Thermokarst Tundra Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Environmental Research Letters 18 6 065003 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
ecosystem succession soil carbon soil nitrogen cycling soil phosphorus thermokarst Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
ecosystem succession soil carbon soil nitrogen cycling soil phosphorus thermokarst Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Kate M Buckeridge Jennie R McLaren Michelle C Mack Edward A G Schuur Joshua Schimel Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
topic_facet |
ecosystem succession soil carbon soil nitrogen cycling soil phosphorus thermokarst Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS)—thermal erosion of soil and vegetation after ground ice thaw—are increasing. Recovery of plant biomass after RTS is important for maintaining Arctic carbon (C) stocks and is regulated by nutrient availability for new plant growth. Many RTS are characterized by verdant shrub growth mid-succession, atypical of the surrounding nutrient-limited tundra. Here, we investigated the potential for internal and external sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to support mid-successional shrub growth at three Alaskan RTS chronosequences. We assessed patterns of soil and microbial CNP, soil NP cycling rates and stocks, N inputs via biological N _2 -fixation, and thaw leachate over time after disturbance. We found a clear transfer of P stocks from mineral to organic soils with increasing site age, yet insufficient N from any one source to support observed shrub growth. Instead, multiple mechanisms may have contributed to mid-successional shrub growth, including sustained N-cycling with reduced plant biomass, N leaching from undisturbed tundra, uninvestigated sources of N _2 -fixation, and most promising given the large resource, deep mineral soil N stocks. These potential mechanisms of N supply are critical for the regulation of the Arctic C cycle in response to an increasingly common climate-driven disturbance. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kate M Buckeridge Jennie R McLaren Michelle C Mack Edward A G Schuur Joshua Schimel |
author_facet |
Kate M Buckeridge Jennie R McLaren Michelle C Mack Edward A G Schuur Joshua Schimel |
author_sort |
Kate M Buckeridge |
title |
Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
title_short |
Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
title_full |
Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in Alaska |
title_sort |
missing nitrogen source during ecosystem succession within retrogressive thaw slumps in alaska |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 https://doaj.org/article/9adbc29173d340c69ba895b94fc1e7af |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Thermokarst Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Thermokarst Tundra Alaska |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 18, Iss 6, p 065003 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/9adbc29173d340c69ba895b94fc1e7af |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd0c2 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
18 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
065003 |
_version_ |
1776198467448733696 |