Understory vegetation mediates permafrost active layer dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes in open-canopy larch forests of northeastern Siberia.
Arctic ecosystems are characterized by a broad range of plant functional types that are highly heterogeneous at small (~1-2 m) spatial scales. Climatic changes can impact vegetation distribution directly, and also indirectly via impacts on disturbance regimes. Consequent changes in vegetation struct...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d63fa149f63a4f66a59797ad72fcf402 2023-05-15T15:11:01+02:00 Understory vegetation mediates permafrost active layer dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes in open-canopy larch forests of northeastern Siberia. Michael M Loranty Logan T Berner Eric D Taber Heather Kropp Susan M Natali Heather D Alexander Sergey P Davydov Nikita S Zimov 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194014 https://doaj.org/article/d63fa149f63a4f66a59797ad72fcf402 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5863986?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0194014 https://doaj.org/article/d63fa149f63a4f66a59797ad72fcf402 PLoS ONE, Vol 13, Iss 3, p e0194014 (2018) Medicine R Science Q article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194014 2022-12-31T00:19:18Z Arctic ecosystems are characterized by a broad range of plant functional types that are highly heterogeneous at small (~1-2 m) spatial scales. Climatic changes can impact vegetation distribution directly, and also indirectly via impacts on disturbance regimes. Consequent changes in vegetation structure and function have implications for surface energy dynamics that may alter permafrost thermal dynamics, and are therefore of interest in the context of permafrost related climate feedbacks. In this study we examine small-scale heterogeneity in soil thermal properties and ecosystem carbon and water fluxes associated with varying understory vegetation in open-canopy larch forests in northeastern Siberia. We found that lichen mats comprise 16% of understory vegetation cover on average in open canopy larch forests, and lichen abundance was inversely related to canopy cover. Relative to adjacent areas dominated by shrubs and moss, lichen mats had 2-3 times deeper permafrost thaw depths and surface soils warmer by 1-2°C in summer and less than 1°C in autumn. Despite deeper thaw depths, ecosystem respiration did not differ across vegetation types, indicating that autotrophic respiration likely dominates areas with shrubs and moss. Summertime net ecosystem exchange of CO2 was negative (i.e. net uptake) in areas with high shrub cover, while positive (i.e. net loss) in lichen mats and areas with less shrub cover. Our results highlight relationships between vegetation and soil thermal dynamics in permafrost ecosystems, and underscore the necessity of considering both vegetation and permafrost dynamics in shaping carbon cycling in permafrost ecosystems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic permafrost Siberia Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS ONE 13 3 e0194014 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Michael M Loranty Logan T Berner Eric D Taber Heather Kropp Susan M Natali Heather D Alexander Sergey P Davydov Nikita S Zimov Understory vegetation mediates permafrost active layer dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes in open-canopy larch forests of northeastern Siberia. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Arctic ecosystems are characterized by a broad range of plant functional types that are highly heterogeneous at small (~1-2 m) spatial scales. Climatic changes can impact vegetation distribution directly, and also indirectly via impacts on disturbance regimes. Consequent changes in vegetation structure and function have implications for surface energy dynamics that may alter permafrost thermal dynamics, and are therefore of interest in the context of permafrost related climate feedbacks. In this study we examine small-scale heterogeneity in soil thermal properties and ecosystem carbon and water fluxes associated with varying understory vegetation in open-canopy larch forests in northeastern Siberia. We found that lichen mats comprise 16% of understory vegetation cover on average in open canopy larch forests, and lichen abundance was inversely related to canopy cover. Relative to adjacent areas dominated by shrubs and moss, lichen mats had 2-3 times deeper permafrost thaw depths and surface soils warmer by 1-2°C in summer and less than 1°C in autumn. Despite deeper thaw depths, ecosystem respiration did not differ across vegetation types, indicating that autotrophic respiration likely dominates areas with shrubs and moss. Summertime net ecosystem exchange of CO2 was negative (i.e. net uptake) in areas with high shrub cover, while positive (i.e. net loss) in lichen mats and areas with less shrub cover. Our results highlight relationships between vegetation and soil thermal dynamics in permafrost ecosystems, and underscore the necessity of considering both vegetation and permafrost dynamics in shaping carbon cycling in permafrost ecosystems. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Michael M Loranty Logan T Berner Eric D Taber Heather Kropp Susan M Natali Heather D Alexander Sergey P Davydov Nikita S Zimov |
author_facet |
Michael M Loranty Logan T Berner Eric D Taber Heather Kropp Susan M Natali Heather D Alexander Sergey P Davydov Nikita S Zimov |
author_sort |
Michael M Loranty |
title |
Understory vegetation mediates permafrost active layer dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes in open-canopy larch forests of northeastern Siberia. |
title_short |
Understory vegetation mediates permafrost active layer dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes in open-canopy larch forests of northeastern Siberia. |
title_full |
Understory vegetation mediates permafrost active layer dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes in open-canopy larch forests of northeastern Siberia. |
title_fullStr |
Understory vegetation mediates permafrost active layer dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes in open-canopy larch forests of northeastern Siberia. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Understory vegetation mediates permafrost active layer dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes in open-canopy larch forests of northeastern Siberia. |
title_sort |
understory vegetation mediates permafrost active layer dynamics and carbon dioxide fluxes in open-canopy larch forests of northeastern siberia. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194014 https://doaj.org/article/d63fa149f63a4f66a59797ad72fcf402 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic permafrost Siberia |
genre_facet |
Arctic permafrost Siberia |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 13, Iss 3, p e0194014 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5863986?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0194014 https://doaj.org/article/d63fa149f63a4f66a59797ad72fcf402 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194014 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
e0194014 |
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1766341932557008896 |