Abstract
The Arctic has experienced greater climate warming in the last decade than anywhere else, potentially shifting its carbon status from a sink to a source. Increasing temperatures impact nival wetlands that rely on a strong hydrological input from melting perennial snowpacks. Soil moisture, soil temperature and active layer depth are key biophysical variables in predicting carbon flux trajectories in this environment. How these variables interact is crucial in delineating links between snowmelt and seasonal changes in wetland productivity. To date, there have been numerous studies that have examined these variables, but few have investigated the relationships between these biophysical variables and wetland thaw patterns at a high spatial and temporal scale. This study found a decrease in temporal variability and reduced interactions between variables as the wetland thawed as well as localized hot spots of increased values and an overall east to west trend across the site. This implies that Arctic wetland ecosystems are dynamic systems that reach a level of stability during peak growth. They also exhibit changeable spatial patterns that cannot be generalized.
Highlights
The Arctic has seen greater climate warming in the last decade than anywhere else on earth (Walker, 2000; Stieglitz et al, 2000; Stow et al, 2004; Walker et al, 2005; Nobrega & Grogan, 2008; Elmendorf at al., 2012; Screen & Simmonds, 2012)
These studies have all considered soil moisture (SM), soil temperature (ST) and active layer depth (AL) in analyzing the biotic nature of these wetlands and their resultant CO2 fluxes, but there is a lack of research into these biophysical interactions alone at a high spatial and temporal scale
The moderately average relationships between the biophysical variables reduces to non-‐ existent as the season progresses, once again promoting the idea of a steady wetland ecosystem late in the summer season
Summary
The Arctic has seen greater climate warming in the last decade than anywhere else on earth (Walker, 2000; Stieglitz et al, 2000; Stow et al, 2004; Walker et al, 2005; Nobrega & Grogan, 2008; Elmendorf at al., 2012; Screen & Simmonds, 2012). Previous studies within wetland ecosystems have focused on the vegetative communities (Atkinson & Treitz, 2012, 2013), hydrochemistry (Buttle & Fraser, 1992; Thompson & Woo, 2009), inter-‐seasonal CO2 flux (Nobrega & Grogan, 2008; Tarnocai et al, 2009; Dag & Lafleur, 2011; Elmendorf et al, 2012), and the hydrological regimes necessary to support this ecosystem (Roulet & Woo, 1986a, 1986b; Woo & Young, 1998, 2003, 2006; Woo, Young & Brown, 2006; Abnizova & Young, 2009) These studies have all considered soil moisture (SM), soil temperature (ST) and active layer depth (AL) in analyzing the biotic nature of these wetlands and their resultant CO2 fluxes, but there is a lack of research into these biophysical interactions alone at a high spatial and temporal scale. The spatial aspect of this study will aid in investigating a new aspect of biophysical variability that has limited previous study
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