Biogeochemical Diversity Along a Riverside Toposequence in Arctic Alaska

Abstract

Nitrogen and phosphorus pool sizes, distribution, and cycling rates were described and compared for six different ecosystem types occurring along a single toposequence in northern Alaska. The toposequence was located on a series of old floodplains of the Sagavanirktok River, in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range. From tussock tundra in the uplands, the toposequence passed through a relatively dry hilltop heath zone, a hillslope shrub/lupine/Cassiope zone, a footslope Equisetum zone, a wet sedge tundra, and a riparian shrub zone. A late—melting snowbank covered the hillslope site in early June of each year, and the sites consistently varied in soil temperature, soil moisture, thaw depth, and the seasonal pattern of soil thaw. The standing stocks of N, P, and C in soils of these six ecosystem types varied dramatically but not monotonically along the toposequence, as did the turnover rates of these elements. Several measures were used in comparisons of N and P availability, including soil solution concentrations, in situ accumulation on ion—exchange resins, and levels of KCI—extractable N and P. Annual rates of net N mineralization were assayed using a buried bag method, and ecosystem respiration was measured by trapping CO2 in soda lime [NaOH + Ca (OH)2]. Soil P pools were characterized by sequential extraction methods into four major pools, including loosely bound P, Al— and Fe—bound P, primary mineral P, and organic P. Both N and P availability were low in all six ecosystems when compared with temperate forests or wetlands. Among ecosystems, however, there was considerable variation in the relative availability of N vs. P, and in the apparent relative importance of nitrate as a nitrogen source.