Vegetation Canopy and Radiation Controls on Permafrost Plateau Evolution within the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada
This study examines the links between the spatial distribution of three‐dimensional vegetation structural characteristics and historical permafrost plateau area changes using airborne light detection and ranging and aerial photography. The results show that vegetation is prone to reduced canopy frac...
Published in: | Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.724 |
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ftrepec:oai:RePEc:wly:perpro:v:22:y:2011:i:3:p:199-213 2023-05-15T17:46:41+02:00 Vegetation Canopy and Radiation Controls on Permafrost Plateau Evolution within the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada L. Chasmer W. Quinton C. Hopkinson R. Petrone P. Whittington https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.724 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.724 article ftrepec https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.724 2020-12-04T13:31:03Z This study examines the links between the spatial distribution of three‐dimensional vegetation structural characteristics and historical permafrost plateau area changes using airborne light detection and ranging and aerial photography. The results show that vegetation is prone to reduced canopy fractional cover (by up to 50%) and reduced canopy heights (by 16−30%) at the edges of plateaus. Reduced biomass may cause a positive feedback, whereby diminished within‐ and below‐canopy shadowing (by 1 h of shadow time per day) results in increased radiation incident on the ground surface (16% greater at open‐ vs closed‐canopy plateau sites) and increased longwave radiation losses (74% greater at open‐ vs closed‐canopy plateau sites). Increased incident shortwave radiation may result in augmented thawing of permafrost and increased meltwater runoff, which further inhibits vegetation and permafrost persistence. Edge influences on ground thaw cause vegetation to die over several years (confirmed using historical aerial photography), thereby exacerbating thaw and plateau area reduction (plateau area reduction = ~27% over 60 years). Permafrost degradation is also evidenced by the increasingly fragmented characteristics of the landscape. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northwest Territories permafrost RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) Northwest Territories Canada Permafrost and Periglacial Processes n/a n/a |
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RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
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description |
This study examines the links between the spatial distribution of three‐dimensional vegetation structural characteristics and historical permafrost plateau area changes using airborne light detection and ranging and aerial photography. The results show that vegetation is prone to reduced canopy fractional cover (by up to 50%) and reduced canopy heights (by 16−30%) at the edges of plateaus. Reduced biomass may cause a positive feedback, whereby diminished within‐ and below‐canopy shadowing (by 1 h of shadow time per day) results in increased radiation incident on the ground surface (16% greater at open‐ vs closed‐canopy plateau sites) and increased longwave radiation losses (74% greater at open‐ vs closed‐canopy plateau sites). Increased incident shortwave radiation may result in augmented thawing of permafrost and increased meltwater runoff, which further inhibits vegetation and permafrost persistence. Edge influences on ground thaw cause vegetation to die over several years (confirmed using historical aerial photography), thereby exacerbating thaw and plateau area reduction (plateau area reduction = ~27% over 60 years). Permafrost degradation is also evidenced by the increasingly fragmented characteristics of the landscape. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
L. Chasmer W. Quinton C. Hopkinson R. Petrone P. Whittington |
spellingShingle |
L. Chasmer W. Quinton C. Hopkinson R. Petrone P. Whittington Vegetation Canopy and Radiation Controls on Permafrost Plateau Evolution within the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada |
author_facet |
L. Chasmer W. Quinton C. Hopkinson R. Petrone P. Whittington |
author_sort |
L. Chasmer |
title |
Vegetation Canopy and Radiation Controls on Permafrost Plateau Evolution within the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_short |
Vegetation Canopy and Radiation Controls on Permafrost Plateau Evolution within the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_full |
Vegetation Canopy and Radiation Controls on Permafrost Plateau Evolution within the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Vegetation Canopy and Radiation Controls on Permafrost Plateau Evolution within the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Vegetation Canopy and Radiation Controls on Permafrost Plateau Evolution within the Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Northwest Territories, Canada |
title_sort |
vegetation canopy and radiation controls on permafrost plateau evolution within the discontinuous permafrost zone, northwest territories, canada |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.724 |
geographic |
Northwest Territories Canada |
geographic_facet |
Northwest Territories Canada |
genre |
Northwest Territories permafrost |
genre_facet |
Northwest Territories permafrost |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.724 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.724 |
container_title |
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
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1766150489128304640 |