Abstract
AbstractTake‐Home MessageClimate warming is transforming the Arctic at an unprecedented rate with previously barren and sparsely vegetated landscapes undergoing “greening”. We postulate that the observed vegetation changes throughout the Arctic are not only tied to warming, but to changes in soil properties and their impacts on plants and soil microbial communities. A key to understanding extent and patterns of greening of formerly sparsely vegetated Arctic environments will be to unravel the interactions between the biosphere and the role of soil genesis.
Highlights
Through the mineralization of soil organic carbon (SOC) that was previously protected through cold temperatures, Arctic environments will be one of the largest sources for greenhouse gas emissions in the 21st century creating a feedback towards even more warming in the future
Constraining the timescale and spatial extent of Arctic Greening may require a better understanding of Arctic soil weathering and development, a key process that has not received much attention
Arctic plant community dynamics and soil development are often perceived as independent processes that occur at different time scales
Summary
The disappearance of Arctic permafrost due to climate warming (Christiansen et al, 2020) and the rapid decomposition of carbon (C) in organic soil layers accumulated for millennia have drawn much attention in recent years within the soil science community (Hugelius et al, 2014; Schuur & Mack, 2018; Jobbágy & Jackson 2000). An increase in plant net primary productivity, increasing diversity, abundance and range expansion of potentially more productive plant species has been observed throughout the high Arctic (Harrison, 2020; Myers-Smith et al, 2020; Post et al, 2009; Wasowicz et al, 2020) The consequences of these changing conditions are shifts in the distribution patterns of native vegetation as well as the establishment of new plant species, which include alien vascular plant species from lower latitudes that are better adapted to a warmer climate. Warming-induced development of soil chemical, physical and microbial properties to support plant life might be key to understanding patterns and the extent of Arctic Greening in many regions
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