Differential responses of respiration and photosynthesis to air temperature over a moist tundra ecosystem of Alaska and its impact on changing carbon cycle

Abstract

This study analyzed the sensitivities of carbon cycle to surface air temperature using the CO2 flux data collected from June to September for six years (2014–2019) over a moist tundra site in Council, Alaska. The tundra ecosystem was a strong sink of carbon in June and July, a weak sink in August with rapidly decreasing photosynthesis, and a carbon source in September. The ecosystem respiration (Re) and gross primary production (GPP) were obtained from the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of eddy-covariance system. Both the Re and GPP increased with temperature, enhancing carbon emission and uptake during observation period. Notably, Re showed higher sensitivity to temperature than GPP did. This result means that as global warming continues, the increase in carbon release is greater than the increase in carbon uptake. In other words, the tundra ecosystem is expected to become a weaker carbon sink in June and July and a stronger source of carbon in September. Possible mechanism of different temperature sensitivities of Re and GPP as well as temporal variations of temperature sensitivities are suggested. Present results highlight the importance of understanding the temperature sensitivities of Re and GPP in various tundra ecosystems to accurately understand changes in the carbon cycle in the Arctic region.