Net Climate Effects of Moose Browsing in Early Successional Boreal Forests by Integrating Carbon and Albedo Dynamics
Moose (Alces alces) is a large herbivore that can mediate boreal forest regeneration after timber harvest through selective browsing of tree species. Despite increasing evidence of moose browsing influence on tree growth in early successional forests, climate effects due to changes in carbon sequest...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences |
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Language: | English |
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American Geophysical Union, AGU
2023
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3056079 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007279 |
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ftntnutrondheimi:oai:ntnuopen.ntnu.no:11250/3056079 2023-05-15T13:13:30+02:00 Net Climate Effects of Moose Browsing in Early Successional Boreal Forests by Integrating Carbon and Albedo Dynamics Salisbury, John Hu, Xiangping Speed, James David Mervyn Iordan, Cristina Maria Austrheim, Gunnar Cherubini, Francesco 2023 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3056079 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007279 eng eng American Geophysical Union, AGU Norges forskningsråd: 184036 Norges forskningsråd: 286773 Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR): Biogeosciences. 2023, 128 (3), . urn:issn:2169-8953 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3056079 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007279 cristin:2131208 Navngivelse 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.no CC-BY 21 128 Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR): Biogeosciences 3 Peer reviewed Journal article 2023 ftntnutrondheimi https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007279 2023-03-08T23:43:51Z Moose (Alces alces) is a large herbivore that can mediate boreal forest regeneration after timber harvest through selective browsing of tree species. Despite increasing evidence of moose browsing influence on tree growth in early successional forests, climate effects due to changes in carbon sequestration rates and biophysical factors such as albedo remain largely unexplored. We used 11 years of data from 44 pair-sites of herbivore exclosures within clear-cut forests in Norway to investigate how moose browsing alters aboveground tree biomass and albedo. We find a higher total aboveground tree biomass (mainly deciduous species) in unbrowsed than browsed forest plots, as moose browsing limited the growth of tree biomass. The effect of moose exclosure on relative tree abundances differed between sites, suggesting that moose browsing has stronger effects on forest structure than composition. At the same time, moose increased forest albedo relative to un-browsed forests, driving biophysical cooling. When averaged at regional levels, climate effects due to changes in biomass and albedo are of similar magnitude, but contributions can diverge in specific locations. In a region with intensive forestry operations and high moose density, CO2 emissions from moose browsing in post-harvested sites can be equal to about 40% of the annual emissions of fossil fuels from that region. Cooling effects from increased albedo can offset about two thirds of this impact. Given its influence on tree growth rates and climate impacts, management of moose browsing density should be integrated into forest management plans to optimize climate change mitigation and forest productivity. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces NTNU Open Archive (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) Norway Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 128 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
NTNU Open Archive (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) |
op_collection_id |
ftntnutrondheimi |
language |
English |
description |
Moose (Alces alces) is a large herbivore that can mediate boreal forest regeneration after timber harvest through selective browsing of tree species. Despite increasing evidence of moose browsing influence on tree growth in early successional forests, climate effects due to changes in carbon sequestration rates and biophysical factors such as albedo remain largely unexplored. We used 11 years of data from 44 pair-sites of herbivore exclosures within clear-cut forests in Norway to investigate how moose browsing alters aboveground tree biomass and albedo. We find a higher total aboveground tree biomass (mainly deciduous species) in unbrowsed than browsed forest plots, as moose browsing limited the growth of tree biomass. The effect of moose exclosure on relative tree abundances differed between sites, suggesting that moose browsing has stronger effects on forest structure than composition. At the same time, moose increased forest albedo relative to un-browsed forests, driving biophysical cooling. When averaged at regional levels, climate effects due to changes in biomass and albedo are of similar magnitude, but contributions can diverge in specific locations. In a region with intensive forestry operations and high moose density, CO2 emissions from moose browsing in post-harvested sites can be equal to about 40% of the annual emissions of fossil fuels from that region. Cooling effects from increased albedo can offset about two thirds of this impact. Given its influence on tree growth rates and climate impacts, management of moose browsing density should be integrated into forest management plans to optimize climate change mitigation and forest productivity. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Salisbury, John Hu, Xiangping Speed, James David Mervyn Iordan, Cristina Maria Austrheim, Gunnar Cherubini, Francesco |
spellingShingle |
Salisbury, John Hu, Xiangping Speed, James David Mervyn Iordan, Cristina Maria Austrheim, Gunnar Cherubini, Francesco Net Climate Effects of Moose Browsing in Early Successional Boreal Forests by Integrating Carbon and Albedo Dynamics |
author_facet |
Salisbury, John Hu, Xiangping Speed, James David Mervyn Iordan, Cristina Maria Austrheim, Gunnar Cherubini, Francesco |
author_sort |
Salisbury, John |
title |
Net Climate Effects of Moose Browsing in Early Successional Boreal Forests by Integrating Carbon and Albedo Dynamics |
title_short |
Net Climate Effects of Moose Browsing in Early Successional Boreal Forests by Integrating Carbon and Albedo Dynamics |
title_full |
Net Climate Effects of Moose Browsing in Early Successional Boreal Forests by Integrating Carbon and Albedo Dynamics |
title_fullStr |
Net Climate Effects of Moose Browsing in Early Successional Boreal Forests by Integrating Carbon and Albedo Dynamics |
title_full_unstemmed |
Net Climate Effects of Moose Browsing in Early Successional Boreal Forests by Integrating Carbon and Albedo Dynamics |
title_sort |
net climate effects of moose browsing in early successional boreal forests by integrating carbon and albedo dynamics |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union, AGU |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3056079 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007279 |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Alces alces |
genre_facet |
Alces alces |
op_source |
21 128 Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR): Biogeosciences 3 |
op_relation |
Norges forskningsråd: 184036 Norges forskningsråd: 286773 Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR): Biogeosciences. 2023, 128 (3), . urn:issn:2169-8953 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3056079 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007279 cristin:2131208 |
op_rights |
Navngivelse 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.no |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007279 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
128 |
container_issue |
3 |
_version_ |
1766258843633844224 |