Carbon budget estimation of a subarctic catchment using a dynamic ecosystem model at high spatial resolution
A large amount of organic carbon is stored in high-latitude soils. A substantial proportion of this carbon stock is vulnerable and may decompose rapidly due to temperature increases that are already greater than the global average. It is therefore crucial to quantify and understand carbon exchange b...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b64c30589c834ccc9beccd2361131e09 2023-05-15T15:02:08+02:00 Carbon budget estimation of a subarctic catchment using a dynamic ecosystem model at high spatial resolution J. Tang P. A. Miller A. Persson D. Olefeldt P. Pilesjö M. Heliasz M. Jackowicz-Korczynski Z. Yang B. Smith T. V. Callaghan T. R. Christensen 2015-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2791-2015 https://doaj.org/article/b64c30589c834ccc9beccd2361131e09 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.biogeosciences.net/12/2791/2015/bg-12-2791-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-12-2791-2015 https://doaj.org/article/b64c30589c834ccc9beccd2361131e09 Biogeosciences, Vol 12, Iss 9, Pp 2791-2808 (2015) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2791-2015 2022-12-31T14:16:54Z A large amount of organic carbon is stored in high-latitude soils. A substantial proportion of this carbon stock is vulnerable and may decompose rapidly due to temperature increases that are already greater than the global average. It is therefore crucial to quantify and understand carbon exchange between the atmosphere and subarctic/arctic ecosystems. In this paper, we combine an Arctic-enabled version of the process-based dynamic ecosystem model, LPJ-GUESS (version LPJG-WHyMe-TFM) with comprehensive observations of terrestrial and aquatic carbon fluxes to simulate long-term carbon exchange in a subarctic catchment at 50 m resolution. Integrating the observed carbon fluxes from aquatic systems with the modeled terrestrial carbon fluxes across the whole catchment, we estimate that the area is a carbon sink at present and will become an even stronger carbon sink by 2080, which is mainly a result of a projected densification of birch forest and its encroachment into tundra heath. However, the magnitudes of the modeled sinks are very dependent on future atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. Furthermore, comparisons of global warming potentials between two simulations with and without CO 2 increase since 1960 reveal that the increased methane emission from the peatland could double the warming effects of the whole catchment by 2080 in the absence of CO 2 fertilization of the vegetation. This is the first process-based model study of the temporal evolution of a catchment-level carbon budget at high spatial resolution, including both terrestrial and aquatic carbon. Though this study also highlights some limitations in modeling subarctic ecosystem responses to climate change, such as aquatic system flux dynamics, nutrient limitation, herbivory and other disturbances, and peatland expansion, our study provides one process-based approach to resolve the complexity of carbon cycling in subarctic ecosystems while simultaneously pointing out the key model developments for capturing complex subarctic processes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Global warming Subarctic Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Biogeosciences 12 9 2791 2808 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 J. Tang P. A. Miller A. Persson D. Olefeldt P. Pilesjö M. Heliasz M. Jackowicz-Korczynski Z. Yang B. Smith T. V. Callaghan T. R. Christensen Carbon budget estimation of a subarctic catchment using a dynamic ecosystem model at high spatial resolution |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
A large amount of organic carbon is stored in high-latitude soils. A substantial proportion of this carbon stock is vulnerable and may decompose rapidly due to temperature increases that are already greater than the global average. It is therefore crucial to quantify and understand carbon exchange between the atmosphere and subarctic/arctic ecosystems. In this paper, we combine an Arctic-enabled version of the process-based dynamic ecosystem model, LPJ-GUESS (version LPJG-WHyMe-TFM) with comprehensive observations of terrestrial and aquatic carbon fluxes to simulate long-term carbon exchange in a subarctic catchment at 50 m resolution. Integrating the observed carbon fluxes from aquatic systems with the modeled terrestrial carbon fluxes across the whole catchment, we estimate that the area is a carbon sink at present and will become an even stronger carbon sink by 2080, which is mainly a result of a projected densification of birch forest and its encroachment into tundra heath. However, the magnitudes of the modeled sinks are very dependent on future atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. Furthermore, comparisons of global warming potentials between two simulations with and without CO 2 increase since 1960 reveal that the increased methane emission from the peatland could double the warming effects of the whole catchment by 2080 in the absence of CO 2 fertilization of the vegetation. This is the first process-based model study of the temporal evolution of a catchment-level carbon budget at high spatial resolution, including both terrestrial and aquatic carbon. Though this study also highlights some limitations in modeling subarctic ecosystem responses to climate change, such as aquatic system flux dynamics, nutrient limitation, herbivory and other disturbances, and peatland expansion, our study provides one process-based approach to resolve the complexity of carbon cycling in subarctic ecosystems while simultaneously pointing out the key model developments for capturing complex subarctic processes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. Tang P. A. Miller A. Persson D. Olefeldt P. Pilesjö M. Heliasz M. Jackowicz-Korczynski Z. Yang B. Smith T. V. Callaghan T. R. Christensen |
author_facet |
J. Tang P. A. Miller A. Persson D. Olefeldt P. Pilesjö M. Heliasz M. Jackowicz-Korczynski Z. Yang B. Smith T. V. Callaghan T. R. Christensen |
author_sort |
J. Tang |
title |
Carbon budget estimation of a subarctic catchment using a dynamic ecosystem model at high spatial resolution |
title_short |
Carbon budget estimation of a subarctic catchment using a dynamic ecosystem model at high spatial resolution |
title_full |
Carbon budget estimation of a subarctic catchment using a dynamic ecosystem model at high spatial resolution |
title_fullStr |
Carbon budget estimation of a subarctic catchment using a dynamic ecosystem model at high spatial resolution |
title_full_unstemmed |
Carbon budget estimation of a subarctic catchment using a dynamic ecosystem model at high spatial resolution |
title_sort |
carbon budget estimation of a subarctic catchment using a dynamic ecosystem model at high spatial resolution |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2791-2015 https://doaj.org/article/b64c30589c834ccc9beccd2361131e09 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Global warming Subarctic Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Global warming Subarctic Tundra |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 12, Iss 9, Pp 2791-2808 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.biogeosciences.net/12/2791/2015/bg-12-2791-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-12-2791-2015 https://doaj.org/article/b64c30589c834ccc9beccd2361131e09 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2791-2015 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
2791 |
op_container_end_page |
2808 |
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1766334121356820480 |