Leaf mineral nutrition of Arctic plants in response to warming and deeper snow in northern Alaska

Abstract

Articulating the consequences of global climate change on terrestrial ecosystem biogeochemistry is a critical component of Arctic system studies. Leaf mineral nutrition responses of tundra plants is an important measure of changes in organismic and ecosystem attributes because leaf nitrogen and carbon contents effect photosynthesis, primary production, carbon budgets, leaf litter, and soil organic matter decomposition as well as herbivore forage quality. In this study, we used a longterm experiment where snow depth and summer temperatures were increased independently and together to articulate how a series of climate change scenarios would affect leaf N, leaf C, and leaf C:N for vegetation in dry and moist tussock tundra in northern Alaska, USA. Our findings were: 1) moist tundra vegetation is much more responsive to this suite of climate change scenarios than dry tundra with up to a 25% increase in leaf N; 2) life forms exhibit divergence in leaf C, N, and C:N with deciduous shrubs and graminoids having almost identical leaf N contents; 3) for some species, leaf mineral nutrition responses to these climate change scenarios are tundra type dependent (Betula), but for others (Vaccinium vitis‐idaea), strong responses are exhibited regardless of tundra type; and 4) the seasonal patterns and magnitudes of leaf C and leaf N in deciduous and evergreen shrubs were responsive to conditions of deeper snow in winter. Leaf N is was generally higher immediately after emergence from the deep snow experimental treatments and leaf N was higher during the subsequent summer and fall, and the leaf C:N were lower, especially in deciduous shrubs. These findings indicate that coupled increases in snow depth and warmer summer temperatures will alter the magnitudes and patterns of leaf mineral nutrition and that the long term consequences of these changes may feed‐forward and affect ecosystem processes.