Deepened winter snow increases stem growth and alters stem δ13C and δ15N in evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona in high-arctic Svalbard tundra
Published version, also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044008 Abstract Deeper winter snow is hypothesized to favor shrub growth and may partly explain the shrub expansion observed in many parts of the arctic during the last decades, potentially triggering biophysical feedbacks...
Published in: | Environmental Research Letters |
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/8909 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044008 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/8909 2023-05-15T14:54:29+02:00 Deepened winter snow increases stem growth and alters stem δ13C and δ15N in evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona in high-arctic Svalbard tundra Blok, Daan Weijers, Stef Welker, Jeffrey M. Cooper, Elisabeth J. Michelsen, Anders Löffler, Jörg Elberling, Bo 2015-04-14 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/8909 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044008 eng eng IOP Publishing Environmental Research Letters 2015, 10(4) FRIDAID 1257256 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044008 1748-9326 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/8909 URN:NBN:no-uit_munin_8502 openAccess VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Ecology: 488 Journal article Tidsskriftartikkel Peer reviewed 2015 ftunivtroemsoe https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044008 2021-06-25T17:54:39Z Published version, also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044008 Abstract Deeper winter snow is hypothesized to favor shrub growth and may partly explain the shrub expansion observed in many parts of the arctic during the last decades, potentially triggering biophysical feedbacks including regional warming and permafrost thawing.Weexperimentally tested the effects of winter snow depth on shrub growth and ecophysiology by measuring stem length and stem hydrogen (δ2H), carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic composition of the circumarctic evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona growing in high-arctic Svalbard, Norway. Measurements were carried out on C. tetragona individuals sampled from three tundra sites, each representing a distinct moisture regime (dry heath, meadow, moist meadow). Individuals were sampled along gradients of experimentally manipulated winter snow depths in a six-year old snow fence experiment: in ambient (c. 20 cm), medium (c. 100 cm), and deep snow (c. 150 cm) plots. The deep-snow treatment consistently and significantly increased C. tetragona growth during the 2008–2011 manipulation period compared to growth in ambient-snow plots. Stem δ15Nand stemN concentration values were significantly higher in deep-snow individuals compared to individuals growing in ambient-snow plots during the course of the experiment, suggesting that soil N-availability was increased in deep-snow plots as a result of increased soil winterNmineralization. Although interannual growing season-precipitation δ2Hand stem δ2Hrecords closely matched, snow depth did not change stem δ2Hor δ18O, suggesting that water source usage by C. tetragona was unaltered. Instead, the deep insulating snowpack may have protected C. tetragona shrubs against frost damage, potentially compensating the detrimental effects of a shortened growing season and associated phenological delay on growth. Our findings suggest that an increase in winter precipitation in the High Arctic, as predicted by climate models, has the potential to alter the growth and ecophysiology of evergreen shrub C. tetragona through changes in plant mineral nutrition and frost damage protection. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Cassiope tetragona permafrost Svalbard Tundra University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Arctic Svalbard Norway Environmental Research Letters 10 4 044008 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Ecology: 488 |
spellingShingle |
VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Ecology: 488 Blok, Daan Weijers, Stef Welker, Jeffrey M. Cooper, Elisabeth J. Michelsen, Anders Löffler, Jörg Elberling, Bo Deepened winter snow increases stem growth and alters stem δ13C and δ15N in evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona in high-arctic Svalbard tundra |
topic_facet |
VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Ecology: 488 |
description |
Published version, also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044008 Abstract Deeper winter snow is hypothesized to favor shrub growth and may partly explain the shrub expansion observed in many parts of the arctic during the last decades, potentially triggering biophysical feedbacks including regional warming and permafrost thawing.Weexperimentally tested the effects of winter snow depth on shrub growth and ecophysiology by measuring stem length and stem hydrogen (δ2H), carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopic composition of the circumarctic evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona growing in high-arctic Svalbard, Norway. Measurements were carried out on C. tetragona individuals sampled from three tundra sites, each representing a distinct moisture regime (dry heath, meadow, moist meadow). Individuals were sampled along gradients of experimentally manipulated winter snow depths in a six-year old snow fence experiment: in ambient (c. 20 cm), medium (c. 100 cm), and deep snow (c. 150 cm) plots. The deep-snow treatment consistently and significantly increased C. tetragona growth during the 2008–2011 manipulation period compared to growth in ambient-snow plots. Stem δ15Nand stemN concentration values were significantly higher in deep-snow individuals compared to individuals growing in ambient-snow plots during the course of the experiment, suggesting that soil N-availability was increased in deep-snow plots as a result of increased soil winterNmineralization. Although interannual growing season-precipitation δ2Hand stem δ2Hrecords closely matched, snow depth did not change stem δ2Hor δ18O, suggesting that water source usage by C. tetragona was unaltered. Instead, the deep insulating snowpack may have protected C. tetragona shrubs against frost damage, potentially compensating the detrimental effects of a shortened growing season and associated phenological delay on growth. Our findings suggest that an increase in winter precipitation in the High Arctic, as predicted by climate models, has the potential to alter the growth and ecophysiology of evergreen shrub C. tetragona through changes in plant mineral nutrition and frost damage protection. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Blok, Daan Weijers, Stef Welker, Jeffrey M. Cooper, Elisabeth J. Michelsen, Anders Löffler, Jörg Elberling, Bo |
author_facet |
Blok, Daan Weijers, Stef Welker, Jeffrey M. Cooper, Elisabeth J. Michelsen, Anders Löffler, Jörg Elberling, Bo |
author_sort |
Blok, Daan |
title |
Deepened winter snow increases stem growth and alters stem δ13C and δ15N in evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona in high-arctic Svalbard tundra |
title_short |
Deepened winter snow increases stem growth and alters stem δ13C and δ15N in evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona in high-arctic Svalbard tundra |
title_full |
Deepened winter snow increases stem growth and alters stem δ13C and δ15N in evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona in high-arctic Svalbard tundra |
title_fullStr |
Deepened winter snow increases stem growth and alters stem δ13C and δ15N in evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona in high-arctic Svalbard tundra |
title_full_unstemmed |
Deepened winter snow increases stem growth and alters stem δ13C and δ15N in evergreen dwarf shrub Cassiope tetragona in high-arctic Svalbard tundra |
title_sort |
deepened winter snow increases stem growth and alters stem δ13c and δ15n in evergreen dwarf shrub cassiope tetragona in high-arctic svalbard tundra |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/8909 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044008 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Norway |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Norway |
genre |
Arctic Cassiope tetragona permafrost Svalbard Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Cassiope tetragona permafrost Svalbard Tundra |
op_relation |
Environmental Research Letters 2015, 10(4) FRIDAID 1257256 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044008 1748-9326 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/8909 URN:NBN:no-uit_munin_8502 |
op_rights |
openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/4/044008 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
044008 |
_version_ |
1766326203174617088 |