Natural variation in snow depth and snow melt timing in the High Arctic have implications for soil and plant nutrient status and vegetation composition1

Snow cover is a key component in Arctic ecosystems and will likely be affected by changes in winter precipitation. Increased snow depth and consequent later snowmelt leads to greater microbial mineralization in winter, improving soil and vegetation nutrient status. We studied areas with naturally di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arctic Science
Main Authors: Mikel Moriana-Armendariz, Lennart Nilsen, Elisabeth J. Cooper
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
French
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2022
Subjects:
soil properties
plant nutrients
community composition
NDVI
Svalbard
propriétés du sol
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Environmental engineering
TA170-171
Adventdalen
Arctic
Dryas octopetala
Eriophorum
Eriophorum scheuchzeri
Salix polaris
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1139/as-2020-0025
https://doaj.org/article/a87581a8fe134f21a247923853782b80
Description
Summary:Snow cover is a key component in Arctic ecosystems and will likely be affected by changes in winter precipitation. Increased snow depth and consequent later snowmelt leads to greater microbial mineralization in winter, improving soil and vegetation nutrient status. We studied areas with naturally differing snow depths and date of snowmelt in Adventdalen, Svalbard. Soil properties, plant leaf nutrient status, and species composition along with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were compared for three snowmelt regimes (Early, Mid, and Late). We showed that (1) Late regimes (snow beds) had wetter soils, higher pH, and leaves of Bistorta vivipara (L.) Delarbre and Salix polaris Wahlenb. had higher concentration of nutrients (nitrogen and δ15N). Little to no difference was found in soil nutrient concentrations between snowmelt regimes. (2) Late regimes had highest NDVI values, whereas those of Early and Mid regimes were similar. (3) Vegetation composition differed between Early and Late regimes, with Dryas octopetala L. and Luzula arcuata subsp. confusa (Lange) characterizing the former and Equisetum arvense L. and Eriophorum scheuchzeri Hoppe the latter. (4) Trends for plant nutrient contents were similar to those found in a nearby snow manipulation experiment. Snow distribution and time of snowmelt played an important role in determining regional environmental heterogeneity, patchiness in plant community distribution, their species composition, and plant phenology.

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