Data from: Microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the Alaskan Low Arctic
In Low Arctic tundra, thermal erosion of ice-rich permafrost soils (thermokarst) has increased in frequency since the 1980s. Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) are thermokarst disturbances forming large open depressions on hillslopes through soil wasting and vegetation displacement. Tall (> 0.5 m) d...
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ftdryad:oai:v1.datadryad.org:10255/dryad.201378 2023-05-15T14:25:09+02:00 Data from: Microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the Alaskan Low Arctic Huebner, Diane C. Bret-Harte, Marion S. Alaskan Low Arctic Quaternary 2019-02-06T22:52:45Z http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.201378 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rh807jp unknown doi:10.5061/dryad.rh807jp/1 doi:10.1002/ece3.4882 doi:10.5061/dryad.rh807jp Huebner DC, Bret-Harte MS (2019) Microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the Alaskan Low Arctic. Ecology and Evolution 9(4): 1880-1897. http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.201378 arctic chronosequence microsite recruitment retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) seedbank thermokarst Article 2019 ftdryad https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rh807jp https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rh807jp/1 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4882 2020-02-24T15:59:46Z In Low Arctic tundra, thermal erosion of ice-rich permafrost soils (thermokarst) has increased in frequency since the 1980s. Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) are thermokarst disturbances forming large open depressions on hillslopes through soil wasting and vegetation displacement. Tall (> 0.5 m) deciduous shrubs have been observed in RTS a decade after disturbance. RTS may provide conditions suitable for seedling recruitment, which may contribute to arctic shrub expansion. We quantified in situ seedling abundance, and size and viability of soil seedbanks in greenhouse trials for two RTS chronosequences near lakes on Alaska’s North Slope. We hypothesized recent RTS provide microsites for greater recruitment than mature RTS or undisturbed tundra. We also hypothesized soil seedbanks demonstrate quantity-quality trade-offs: younger seedbanks contain smaller numbers of mostly viable seed that decrease in viability as seed accumulates over time. We found five times as many seedlings in younger RTS as in older RTS, including birch and willow, and no seedlings in undisturbed tundra. Higher seedling counts were associated with bare soil, warmer soils, higher soil available nitrogen, and less plant cover. Seedbank viability was unrelated to size. Older seedbanks were larger at one chronosequence, with no difference in percent germination. At the other chronosequence, germination was lower from older seedbanks but seedbank size was not different. Seedbank germination was positively associated with in situ seedling abundance at one RTS chronosequence, suggesting post-disturbance revegetation from seedbanks. Thermal erosion may be important for recruitment in tundra by providing bare microsites that are warmer, more nutrient rich, and less vegetated than in undisturbed conditions. Differences between two chronosequences in seedbank size, viability, and species composition suggest disturbance interacts with local conditions to form seedbanks. RTS may act as seedling nurseries to benefit many arctic species as climate changes, particularly those that do not produce persistent seed. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst Tundra Dryad Digital Repository (Duke University) Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Dryad Digital Repository (Duke University) |
op_collection_id |
ftdryad |
language |
unknown |
topic |
arctic chronosequence microsite recruitment retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) seedbank thermokarst |
spellingShingle |
arctic chronosequence microsite recruitment retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) seedbank thermokarst Huebner, Diane C. Bret-Harte, Marion S. Data from: Microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the Alaskan Low Arctic |
topic_facet |
arctic chronosequence microsite recruitment retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) seedbank thermokarst |
description |
In Low Arctic tundra, thermal erosion of ice-rich permafrost soils (thermokarst) has increased in frequency since the 1980s. Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) are thermokarst disturbances forming large open depressions on hillslopes through soil wasting and vegetation displacement. Tall (> 0.5 m) deciduous shrubs have been observed in RTS a decade after disturbance. RTS may provide conditions suitable for seedling recruitment, which may contribute to arctic shrub expansion. We quantified in situ seedling abundance, and size and viability of soil seedbanks in greenhouse trials for two RTS chronosequences near lakes on Alaska’s North Slope. We hypothesized recent RTS provide microsites for greater recruitment than mature RTS or undisturbed tundra. We also hypothesized soil seedbanks demonstrate quantity-quality trade-offs: younger seedbanks contain smaller numbers of mostly viable seed that decrease in viability as seed accumulates over time. We found five times as many seedlings in younger RTS as in older RTS, including birch and willow, and no seedlings in undisturbed tundra. Higher seedling counts were associated with bare soil, warmer soils, higher soil available nitrogen, and less plant cover. Seedbank viability was unrelated to size. Older seedbanks were larger at one chronosequence, with no difference in percent germination. At the other chronosequence, germination was lower from older seedbanks but seedbank size was not different. Seedbank germination was positively associated with in situ seedling abundance at one RTS chronosequence, suggesting post-disturbance revegetation from seedbanks. Thermal erosion may be important for recruitment in tundra by providing bare microsites that are warmer, more nutrient rich, and less vegetated than in undisturbed conditions. Differences between two chronosequences in seedbank size, viability, and species composition suggest disturbance interacts with local conditions to form seedbanks. RTS may act as seedling nurseries to benefit many arctic species as climate changes, particularly those that do not produce persistent seed. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Huebner, Diane C. Bret-Harte, Marion S. |
author_facet |
Huebner, Diane C. Bret-Harte, Marion S. |
author_sort |
Huebner, Diane C. |
title |
Data from: Microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the Alaskan Low Arctic |
title_short |
Data from: Microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the Alaskan Low Arctic |
title_full |
Data from: Microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the Alaskan Low Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Data from: Microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the Alaskan Low Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Data from: Microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the Alaskan Low Arctic |
title_sort |
data from: microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the alaskan low arctic |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.201378 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rh807jp |
op_coverage |
Alaskan Low Arctic Quaternary |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ice permafrost Thermokarst Tundra |
op_relation |
doi:10.5061/dryad.rh807jp/1 doi:10.1002/ece3.4882 doi:10.5061/dryad.rh807jp Huebner DC, Bret-Harte MS (2019) Microsite conditions in retrogressive thaw slumps may facilitate increased seedling recruitment in the Alaskan Low Arctic. Ecology and Evolution 9(4): 1880-1897. http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.201378 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rh807jp https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rh807jp/1 https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4882 |
_version_ |
1766297580155699200 |