Significance of vegetation cover differences on albedo and soil carbon on a basaltic sandplain in southern Iceland

• Published in: AIMS Environmental Science
• Main Authors: Lawrence H. Tanner, Megan M. Vandewarker
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: AIMS Press 2019
• Subjects: albedo; sandur; moss heath; soil carbon; geo; envir; Arctic; Climate change; Iceland; Tundra
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3934/environsci.2019.6.435; https://doaj.org/article/aca97c33091d45a68b22e3b9ff568ae8

Studies have documented that recent anthropogenic climate change has caused increased vegetative growth on arctic tundra landscapes, resulting in increased carbon storage (in biomass and soil), but decreased albedo and increased energy budgets. The glacial outwash sandplains (sandurs) of Iceland offer an interesting landscape comparison. Here, glacio-fluvial deposits of basaltic volcanic sands and gravels form a low albedo surface (mean 0.11) that stores little carbon ( 0.2%). The environmental benefits of increased albedo and carbon sequestration highlight the importance of considering the specific processes of landscape change in projecting future environmental changes.