Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements
Warming of the Arctic can stimulate microbial decomposition and release of permafrost soil carbon (C) as greenhouse gases, and thus has the potential to influence climate change. At the same time, plant growth can be stimulated and offset C release. This study presents a 15-year time series comprisi...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences |
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Online Access: | http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1850977 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1850977 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jg006044 |
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ftosti:oai:osti.gov:1850977 2023-07-30T04:01:59+02:00 Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements Schuur, Edward A. G. Bracho, Rosvel Celis, Gerardo Belshe, E. Fay Ebert, Chris Ledman, Justin Mauritz, Marguerite Pegoraro, Elaine F. Plaza, César Rodenhizer, Heidi Romanovsky, Vladimir Schädel, Christina Schirokauer, David Taylor, Meghan Vogel, Jason G. Webb, Elizabeth E. 2022-12-22 application/pdf http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1850977 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1850977 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jg006044 unknown http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1850977 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1850977 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jg006044 doi:10.1029/2020jg006044 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 58 GEOSCIENCES 2022 ftosti https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jg006044 2023-07-11T10:10:41Z Warming of the Arctic can stimulate microbial decomposition and release of permafrost soil carbon (C) as greenhouse gases, and thus has the potential to influence climate change. At the same time, plant growth can be stimulated and offset C release. This study presents a 15-year time series comprising chamber and eddy covariance measurements of net ecosystem C exchange in a tundra ecosystem in Alaska where permafrost has been degrading due to regional warming. The site was a carbon dioxide source to the atmosphere with a cumulative total loss of 781.6 g C m -2 over the study period. Both gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (R eco ) were already likely higher than historical levels such that increases in R eco losses overwhelmed GPP gains in most years. This shift to a net C source to the atmosphere likely started in the early 1990s when permafrost was observed to warm and thaw at the site. Shifts in the plant community occur more slowly and are likely to constrain future GPP increases as compared to more rapid shifts in the microbial community that contribute to increased Reco. Observed rates suggest that cumulative net soil C loss of 4.18–10.00 kg C m -2 —8%–20% of the current active layer soil C pool—could occur from 2020 to the end of the century. This amount of permafrost C loss to the atmosphere represents a significant accelerating feedback to climate change if it were to occur at a similar magnitude across the permafrost region. Other/Unknown Material Arctic Climate change permafrost Tundra Alaska SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) Arctic Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 126 6 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) |
op_collection_id |
ftosti |
language |
unknown |
topic |
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 58 GEOSCIENCES |
spellingShingle |
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 58 GEOSCIENCES Schuur, Edward A. G. Bracho, Rosvel Celis, Gerardo Belshe, E. Fay Ebert, Chris Ledman, Justin Mauritz, Marguerite Pegoraro, Elaine F. Plaza, César Rodenhizer, Heidi Romanovsky, Vladimir Schädel, Christina Schirokauer, David Taylor, Meghan Vogel, Jason G. Webb, Elizabeth E. Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
topic_facet |
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 58 GEOSCIENCES |
description |
Warming of the Arctic can stimulate microbial decomposition and release of permafrost soil carbon (C) as greenhouse gases, and thus has the potential to influence climate change. At the same time, plant growth can be stimulated and offset C release. This study presents a 15-year time series comprising chamber and eddy covariance measurements of net ecosystem C exchange in a tundra ecosystem in Alaska where permafrost has been degrading due to regional warming. The site was a carbon dioxide source to the atmosphere with a cumulative total loss of 781.6 g C m -2 over the study period. Both gross primary productivity (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (R eco ) were already likely higher than historical levels such that increases in R eco losses overwhelmed GPP gains in most years. This shift to a net C source to the atmosphere likely started in the early 1990s when permafrost was observed to warm and thaw at the site. Shifts in the plant community occur more slowly and are likely to constrain future GPP increases as compared to more rapid shifts in the microbial community that contribute to increased Reco. Observed rates suggest that cumulative net soil C loss of 4.18–10.00 kg C m -2 —8%–20% of the current active layer soil C pool—could occur from 2020 to the end of the century. This amount of permafrost C loss to the atmosphere represents a significant accelerating feedback to climate change if it were to occur at a similar magnitude across the permafrost region. |
author |
Schuur, Edward A. G. Bracho, Rosvel Celis, Gerardo Belshe, E. Fay Ebert, Chris Ledman, Justin Mauritz, Marguerite Pegoraro, Elaine F. Plaza, César Rodenhizer, Heidi Romanovsky, Vladimir Schädel, Christina Schirokauer, David Taylor, Meghan Vogel, Jason G. Webb, Elizabeth E. |
author_facet |
Schuur, Edward A. G. Bracho, Rosvel Celis, Gerardo Belshe, E. Fay Ebert, Chris Ledman, Justin Mauritz, Marguerite Pegoraro, Elaine F. Plaza, César Rodenhizer, Heidi Romanovsky, Vladimir Schädel, Christina Schirokauer, David Taylor, Meghan Vogel, Jason G. Webb, Elizabeth E. |
author_sort |
Schuur, Edward A. G. |
title |
Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
title_short |
Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
title_full |
Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
title_fullStr |
Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tundra Underlain By Thawing Permafrost Persistently Emits Carbon to the Atmosphere Over 15 Years of Measurements |
title_sort |
tundra underlain by thawing permafrost persistently emits carbon to the atmosphere over 15 years of measurements |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1850977 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1850977 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jg006044 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change permafrost Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change permafrost Tundra Alaska |
op_relation |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1850977 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1850977 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jg006044 doi:10.1029/2020jg006044 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jg006044 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
126 |
container_issue |
6 |
_version_ |
1772812714509336576 |