Snowbed communities and soil C and N dynamics during a four-year investigation in the NW-Italian Alps
The snowbed habitats represent a relevant component of the alpine tundra biome, developing in areas characterized by a long-lasting snow cover. Such areas are particularly sensitive to climate changes, because small variations in air temperature, rain, and snowfall may considerably affect the pedocl...
Published in: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2022.2104001 https://doaj.org/article/e28c1a1dd8604e9595f3d12beb8d7b06 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e28c1a1dd8604e9595f3d12beb8d7b06 2023-05-15T14:14:35+02:00 Snowbed communities and soil C and N dynamics during a four-year investigation in the NW-Italian Alps Emanuele Pintaldi Marco Pittarello Davide Viglietti Elena Quaglia Michele Eugenio D’Amico Giampiero Lombardi Nicola Colombo Michele Lonati Michele Freppaz 2022-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2022.2104001 https://doaj.org/article/e28c1a1dd8604e9595f3d12beb8d7b06 EN eng Taylor & Francis Group https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15230430.2022.2104001 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2022.2104001 1938-4246 1523-0430 https://doaj.org/article/e28c1a1dd8604e9595f3d12beb8d7b06 Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 54, Iss 1, Pp 368-385 (2022) LTER standard monitoring variables Salix herbacea topsoil phenology carbon and nitrogen Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2022.2104001 2022-12-31T00:50:27Z The snowbed habitats represent a relevant component of the alpine tundra biome, developing in areas characterized by a long-lasting snow cover. Such areas are particularly sensitive to climate changes, because small variations in air temperature, rain, and snowfall may considerably affect the pedoclimate and plant phenology, which control the soil C and N cycling. Therefore, it is fundamental to identify the most sensitive abiotic and biotic variables affecting soil nutrient cycling. This work was performed at seven permanent snowbed sites belonging to Salicetum herbaceae vegetation community in the northwestern Italian Alps, at elevations between 2,686 and 2,840 m.a.s.l. During a four-year study, we investigated climate, pedoclimate, floristic composition, phenology, and soil C and N dynamics. We found that lower soil water content and earlier melt-out day decreased soil N-NH4+, N-NO3−, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), microbial nitrogen (Nmicr), microbial carbon (Cmicr), and C:Nmicr ratio. The progression of the phenological stages of Salix herbacea reduced soil N-NH4+ and increased DOC. Our results showed that the snow melt-out day, soil temperature, soil water content, and plant phenological stages were the most important factors affecting soil biogeochemical cycles, and they should be taken into account when assessing the effects of climate change in alpine tundra ecosystems, in the framework of long-term ecological research. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Salix herbacea Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 54 1 368 385 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
LTER standard monitoring variables Salix herbacea topsoil phenology carbon and nitrogen Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
LTER standard monitoring variables Salix herbacea topsoil phenology carbon and nitrogen Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 Emanuele Pintaldi Marco Pittarello Davide Viglietti Elena Quaglia Michele Eugenio D’Amico Giampiero Lombardi Nicola Colombo Michele Lonati Michele Freppaz Snowbed communities and soil C and N dynamics during a four-year investigation in the NW-Italian Alps |
topic_facet |
LTER standard monitoring variables Salix herbacea topsoil phenology carbon and nitrogen Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
The snowbed habitats represent a relevant component of the alpine tundra biome, developing in areas characterized by a long-lasting snow cover. Such areas are particularly sensitive to climate changes, because small variations in air temperature, rain, and snowfall may considerably affect the pedoclimate and plant phenology, which control the soil C and N cycling. Therefore, it is fundamental to identify the most sensitive abiotic and biotic variables affecting soil nutrient cycling. This work was performed at seven permanent snowbed sites belonging to Salicetum herbaceae vegetation community in the northwestern Italian Alps, at elevations between 2,686 and 2,840 m.a.s.l. During a four-year study, we investigated climate, pedoclimate, floristic composition, phenology, and soil C and N dynamics. We found that lower soil water content and earlier melt-out day decreased soil N-NH4+, N-NO3−, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), microbial nitrogen (Nmicr), microbial carbon (Cmicr), and C:Nmicr ratio. The progression of the phenological stages of Salix herbacea reduced soil N-NH4+ and increased DOC. Our results showed that the snow melt-out day, soil temperature, soil water content, and plant phenological stages were the most important factors affecting soil biogeochemical cycles, and they should be taken into account when assessing the effects of climate change in alpine tundra ecosystems, in the framework of long-term ecological research. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Emanuele Pintaldi Marco Pittarello Davide Viglietti Elena Quaglia Michele Eugenio D’Amico Giampiero Lombardi Nicola Colombo Michele Lonati Michele Freppaz |
author_facet |
Emanuele Pintaldi Marco Pittarello Davide Viglietti Elena Quaglia Michele Eugenio D’Amico Giampiero Lombardi Nicola Colombo Michele Lonati Michele Freppaz |
author_sort |
Emanuele Pintaldi |
title |
Snowbed communities and soil C and N dynamics during a four-year investigation in the NW-Italian Alps |
title_short |
Snowbed communities and soil C and N dynamics during a four-year investigation in the NW-Italian Alps |
title_full |
Snowbed communities and soil C and N dynamics during a four-year investigation in the NW-Italian Alps |
title_fullStr |
Snowbed communities and soil C and N dynamics during a four-year investigation in the NW-Italian Alps |
title_full_unstemmed |
Snowbed communities and soil C and N dynamics during a four-year investigation in the NW-Italian Alps |
title_sort |
snowbed communities and soil c and n dynamics during a four-year investigation in the nw-italian alps |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2022.2104001 https://doaj.org/article/e28c1a1dd8604e9595f3d12beb8d7b06 |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Salix herbacea Tundra |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Salix herbacea Tundra |
op_source |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 54, Iss 1, Pp 368-385 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15230430.2022.2104001 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2022.2104001 1938-4246 1523-0430 https://doaj.org/article/e28c1a1dd8604e9595f3d12beb8d7b06 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2022.2104001 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
54 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
368 |
op_container_end_page |
385 |
_version_ |
1766286971341111296 |