Fluxes of energy, water, and carbon dioxide from mountain ecosystems at Niwot Ridge, Colorado
Background: The eddy covariance (EC) technique provides a direct measure of water vapour and carbon dioxide fluxes between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Aims: This review article highlights the findings of various studies that have integrated EC observations into basic meteorological, hydrological...
Published in: | Plant Ecology & Diversity |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis
2015
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Online Access: | http://nldr.library.ucar.edu/repository/collections/OSGC-000-000-022-796 https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2014.904950 |
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ftncar:oai:drupal-site.org:articles_18360 2023-09-05T13:23:49+02:00 Fluxes of energy, water, and carbon dioxide from mountain ecosystems at Niwot Ridge, Colorado Knowles, John (author) Burns, Sean (author) Blanken, Peter (author) Monson, Russell (author) 2015-11-01 http://nldr.library.ucar.edu/repository/collections/OSGC-000-000-022-796 https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2014.904950 en eng Taylor & Francis Plant Ecology & Diversity articles:18360 ark:/85065/d7v69m52 http://nldr.library.ucar.edu/repository/collections/OSGC-000-000-022-796 doi:10.1080/17550874.2014.904950 Copyright 2015 Botanical Society of Scotland. Text article 2015 ftncar https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2014.904950 2023-08-14T18:43:23Z Background: The eddy covariance (EC) technique provides a direct measure of water vapour and carbon dioxide fluxes between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Aims: This review article highlights the findings of various studies that have integrated EC observations into basic meteorological, hydrological and ecological research questions in two ecosystems near Niwot Ridge, Colorado, and synthesises these studies into a catchment-scale model of water and carbon cycling, within the context of regional disturbance and environmental change. Methods: EC was implemented continuously over subalpine forest and alpine tundra vegetation at Niwot Ridge, and resulting data were compared with discrete measurements and modelling studies. Results: Sensible heat fluxes were generally in excess of latent heat fluxes, indicating that the forest and tundra ecosystems were moisture limited. Snow cover regulated the annual sum of primary productivity in the forest, and beneath-snow respiration represented a significant portion of ecosystem respiration at both locations. Conclusions: Changes in the magnitude, timing, or spatial distribution of snow are likely to have the greatest impact on ecological processes in these semi-arid mountain catchments, but possibly in compensatory ways. Ultimately, the degree to which net carbon losses from alpine tundra offset forest carbon sequestration will determine the future magnitude of the Western United States carbon sink. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra OpenSky (NCAR/UCAR - National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) Plant Ecology & Diversity 8 5-6 663 676 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
OpenSky (NCAR/UCAR - National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) |
op_collection_id |
ftncar |
language |
English |
description |
Background: The eddy covariance (EC) technique provides a direct measure of water vapour and carbon dioxide fluxes between ecosystems and the atmosphere. Aims: This review article highlights the findings of various studies that have integrated EC observations into basic meteorological, hydrological and ecological research questions in two ecosystems near Niwot Ridge, Colorado, and synthesises these studies into a catchment-scale model of water and carbon cycling, within the context of regional disturbance and environmental change. Methods: EC was implemented continuously over subalpine forest and alpine tundra vegetation at Niwot Ridge, and resulting data were compared with discrete measurements and modelling studies. Results: Sensible heat fluxes were generally in excess of latent heat fluxes, indicating that the forest and tundra ecosystems were moisture limited. Snow cover regulated the annual sum of primary productivity in the forest, and beneath-snow respiration represented a significant portion of ecosystem respiration at both locations. Conclusions: Changes in the magnitude, timing, or spatial distribution of snow are likely to have the greatest impact on ecological processes in these semi-arid mountain catchments, but possibly in compensatory ways. Ultimately, the degree to which net carbon losses from alpine tundra offset forest carbon sequestration will determine the future magnitude of the Western United States carbon sink. |
author2 |
Knowles, John (author) Burns, Sean (author) Blanken, Peter (author) Monson, Russell (author) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
title |
Fluxes of energy, water, and carbon dioxide from mountain ecosystems at Niwot Ridge, Colorado |
spellingShingle |
Fluxes of energy, water, and carbon dioxide from mountain ecosystems at Niwot Ridge, Colorado |
title_short |
Fluxes of energy, water, and carbon dioxide from mountain ecosystems at Niwot Ridge, Colorado |
title_full |
Fluxes of energy, water, and carbon dioxide from mountain ecosystems at Niwot Ridge, Colorado |
title_fullStr |
Fluxes of energy, water, and carbon dioxide from mountain ecosystems at Niwot Ridge, Colorado |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fluxes of energy, water, and carbon dioxide from mountain ecosystems at Niwot Ridge, Colorado |
title_sort |
fluxes of energy, water, and carbon dioxide from mountain ecosystems at niwot ridge, colorado |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://nldr.library.ucar.edu/repository/collections/OSGC-000-000-022-796 https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2014.904950 |
genre |
Tundra |
genre_facet |
Tundra |
op_relation |
Plant Ecology & Diversity articles:18360 ark:/85065/d7v69m52 http://nldr.library.ucar.edu/repository/collections/OSGC-000-000-022-796 doi:10.1080/17550874.2014.904950 |
op_rights |
Copyright 2015 Botanical Society of Scotland. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2014.904950 |
container_title |
Plant Ecology & Diversity |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
5-6 |
container_start_page |
663 |
op_container_end_page |
676 |
_version_ |
1776204394997481472 |