Moist Tundra Research Articles

Summer temperature increase has distinct effects on the ectomycorrhizal fungal communities of moist tussock and dry tundra in Arctic Alaska.

Arctic regions are experiencing the greatest rates of climate warming on the planet and marked changes have already been observed in terrestrial arctic ecosystems. While most studies have focused on the effects of warming on arctic vegetation and nutrient cycling, little is known about how belowground communities, such as fungi root-associated, respond to warming. Here, we investigate how long-term summer warming affects ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal communities. We used Ion Torrent sequencing of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region to compare ECM fungal communities in plots with and without long-term experimental warming in both dry and moist tussock tundra. Cortinarius was the most OTU-rich genus in the moist tundra, while the most diverse genus in the dry tundra was Tomentella. On the diversity level, in the moist tundra we found significant differences in community composition, and a sharp decrease in the richness of ECM fungi due to warming. On the functional level, our results indicate that warming induces shifts in the extramatrical properties of the communities, where the species with medium-distance exploration type seem to be favored with potential implications for the mobilization of different nutrient pools in the soil. In the dry tundra, neither community richness nor community composition was significantly altered by warming, similar to what had been observed in ECM host plants. There was, however, a marginally significant increase in OTUs identified as ECM fungi with the medium-distance exploration type in the warmed plots. Linking our findings of decreasing richness with previous results of increasing ECM fungal biomass suggests that certain ECM species are favored by warming and may become more abundant, while many other species may go locally extinct due to direct or indirect effects of warming. Such compositional shifts in the community might affect nutrient cycling and soil organic C storage.

Fifty thousand years of Arctic vegetation and megafaunal diet

Although it is generally agreed that the Arctic flora is among the youngest and least diverse on Earth, the processes that shaped it are poorly understood. Here we present 50 thousand years (kyr) of Arctic vegetation history, derived from the first large-scale ancient DNA metabarcoding study of circumpolar plant diversity. For this interval we also explore nematode diversity as a proxy for modelling vegetation cover and soil quality, and diets of herbivorous megafaunal mammals, many of which became extinct around 10 kyr bp (before present). For much of the period investigated, Arctic vegetation consisted of dry steppe-tundra dominated by forbs (non-graminoid herbaceous vascular plants). During the Last Glacial Maximum (25-15 kyr bp), diversity declined markedly, although forbs remained dominant. Much changed after 10 kyr bp, with the appearance of moist tundra dominated by woody plants and graminoids. Our analyses indicate that both graminoids and forbs would have featured in megafaunal diets. As such, our findings question the predominance of a Late Quaternary graminoid-dominated Arctic mammoth steppe.

Greenhouse gas production and consumption in High Arctic deserts

Polar deserts dominate the High Arctic covering over 1 358 000 km2 but little is known about greenhouse gas (GHG) production or flux in polar desert soils. We measured soil-atmosphere GHG exchange for CO2, CH4, and N2O, and net production of these gases in the active layer at 30 sites across three polar deserts in the High Arctic on Ellesmere Island, Canada for a total of 180 production/consumption estimates. There was inter-annual consistency in patterns of GHG net production and a consistent, significant, positive relationship (r2 = 0.91–0.93; p < 0.05) between CO2 production and N2O production in Arctic desert sites. This differs from the negative correlations found in wet or moist tundra ecosystems and may arise from the large N2O emissions in dolomitic desert ecosystems. Global change processes that increase microbial activity in deserts will likely increase N2O emissions but increases in activity in wetter tundra will decrease N2O emissions. However, given the unusual co-consumption of CH4 and N2O in the deserts, it is not clear if models of GHG production developed for other ecosystems will apply to these unique Arctic environments.

Assessing biome boundary shifts under climate change scenarios in India

Climate change and its cascading impacts are being increasingly recognized as a major challenge across the globe. Climate is one of the most critical factors affecting biomes and their distribution. The present study assessed shifts in biome types of India using the conceptual framework of Holdridge life zone (HLZ) model, minimum distance classifier and climatic datasets to assess the distribution pattern of potential biomes under climate change scenarios in India. Modelling was conducted on the entire region of India using various combinations; (i) current climate scenario, and, (ii) increased temperature and precipitation scenario. The geographical analysis identifies nineteen (19) HLZs in the Indian sub-continent; seven (7) biomes and nineteen (19) sub-biomes. The overall accuracy and kappa coefficient of the biome map prepared for current climate scenario was 82.73% and 0.75, respectively. With the changes in increasing temperature and precipitation scenario, the modelling results predict significant decrease in the area cover for tropical deserts (plains), tropical desert scrubs (lower montane), tropical moist forests (lower montane) and tropical wet forests (lower montane). Along with these changes, there have been substantial increases in the area cover for tropical dry forests (plains) and tropical very dry forests (plains), especially in central and southern India. The results show shifts from very dry tundra (alvar) to dry tundra (alpine) and moist tundra (alpine) and in some places tropical moist forests (sub-alpine) as well. In central India, decrease in tropical moist forests (lower montane) has been observed, while an increase in the area cover of tropical rain forests (plains) in northeastern India has been observed. It is important to understand the impacts and vulnerabilities of projected climate change on forest ecosystems so that better management and conservation strategies can be adopted for biodiversity and forest dependent communities. The knowledge of impact mechanisms will identify adaptation strategies for some conditions which will help in decreasing the susceptibility to anticipated climate change in the forest sector.

Estimating 1992–2000 average active layer thickness on the Alaskan North Slope from remotely sensed surface subsidence

The measurement of temporal changes in active layer thickness (ALT) is crucial to monitoring permafrost degradation in the Arctic. We develop a retrieval algorithm to estimate long‐term average ALT using thaw‐season surface subsidence derived from spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) measurements. Our algorithm uses a model of vertical distribution of water content within the active layer accounting for soil texture, organic matter, and moisture. We determine the 1992–2000 average ALT for an 80 × 100 km study area of continuous permafrost on the North Slope of Alaska near Prudhoe Bay. We obtain an ALT of 30–50 cm over moist tundra areas, and a larger ALT of 50–80 cm over wet tundra areas. Our estimated ALT values match in situ measurements at Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) sites within uncertainties. Our results demonstrate that InSAR can provide ALT estimates over large areas at high spatial resolution.

A 16 000‐year record of vegetational change in south‐western Alaska as inferred from plant macrofossils and pollen

AbstractPollen and macrofossil analyses of a sediment core from Beaver Pond (60° 37′ 14″ N, 154° 19′ W, 579 m a.s.l.) reveal a record of regional and local postglacial vegetation change in south‐western Alaska. The chronology is based on five AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) 14C ages obtained from terrestrial plant macrofossils. Pollen and macrofossil records suggest that open herb and shrub tundra with e.g. Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Artemisia, Vaccinium and Salix prevailed on the landscape before ca. 14 000 cal a BP. The shift from herb‐ to shrub‐dominated tundra (Salix, subsequent Betula expansion) possibly reflects climatic warming at the beginning of the Bølling period at ca. 14 700–14 500 and around 13 500 cal a BP. Vegetation (Betula shrub tundra) remained relatively stable until the early Holocene. Macrofossil influx estimates provide evidence for greater biomass in Betula shrub tundra during the early postglacial period than today. Charcoal accumulation rates suggest tundra fire activity was probably greater from ca. 12 500 to 10 500 cal a BP, similar to results from elsewhere in Alaska. The pollen and macrofossil records of Beaver Pond suggest the prevalence of low shrub tundra (shrub Betula, Betula nana, Vaccinium, Ledum palustre, Ericaceae) and tall shrub tundra (Alnus viridis ssp. crispa, Salix) between 10 000 and 4000 cal a BP. This Holocene vegetation type is comparable with that of the modern treeless wet and moist tundra in south‐western Alaska. The expansion of Picea glauca occurred ∼4000 cal a BP, much later than that of A. viridis (ssp. crispa), whereas in central and eastern Alaska Picea glauca expanded prior to or coincident with Alnus (viridis). At sites located only 200–400 km north‐east of Beaver Pond (Farewell and Wien lakes), Picea glauca and Betula forests expanded 8000–6000 cal a BP. Unfavourable climatic conditions and soil properties may have inhibited the expansion and establishment of Picea across south‐west Alaska during the mid and late Holocene. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Surface modelling of global terrestrial ecosystems under three climate change scenarios

A high accuracy and speed method (HASM) of surface modelling is developed to find a solution for error problem and to improve computation speed. A digital elevation model (DEM) is established on spatial resolution of 13.5 km × 13.5 km. Regression formulations among temperature, elevation and latitude are simulated in terms of data from 2766 weather observation stations scattered over the world by using the 13.5 km × 13.5 km DEM as auxiliary data. Three climate scenarios of HadCM3 are refined from spatial resolution of 405 km × 270 km to 13.5 km × 13.5 km in terms of the regression formulations. HASM is employed to simulate surfaces of mean annual bio-temperature, mean annual precipitation and potential evapotranspiration ratio during the periods from 1961 to 1990 (T 1), from 2010 to 2039 (T 2), from 2040 to 2069 (T 3), and from 2070 to 2099 (T 4) on spatial resolution of 13.5 km × 13.5 km. Three scenarios of terrestrial ecosystems on global level are finally developed on the basis of the simulated climate surfaces. The scenarios show that all polar/nival, subpolar/alpine and cold ecosystem types would continuously shrink and all tropical types, except tropical rain forest in scenario A1Fi, would expand because of the climate warming. Especially at least 80% of moist tundra and 22% of nival area might disappear in period T 4 comparing with the ones in the period T 1. Tropical thorn woodland might increase by more than 97%. Subpolar/alpine moist tundra would be the most sensitive ecosystem type because its area would have the rapidest decreasing rate and its mean center would shift the longest distance towards west. Subpolar/alpine moist tundra might be able to serve as an indicator of climatic change. In general, climate change would lead to a continuous reduction of ecological diversity.

Shrub expansion may reduce summer permafrost thaw in Siberian tundra

AbstractClimate change is expected to cause extensive vegetation changes in the Arctic: deciduous shrubs are already expanding, in response to climate warming. The results from transect studies suggest that increasing shrub cover will impact significantly on the surface energy balance. However, little is known about the direct effects of shrub cover on permafrost thaw during summer. We experimentally quantified the influence of Betula nana cover on permafrost thaw in a moist tundra site in northeast Siberia with continuous permafrost. We measured the thaw depth of the soil, also called the active layer thickness (ALT), ground heat flux and net radiation in 10 m diameter plots with natural B. nana cover (control plots) and in plots in which B. nana was removed (removal plots). Removal of B. nana increased ALT by 9% on average late in the growing season, compared with control plots. Differences in ALT correlated well with differences in ground heat flux between the control plots and B. nana removal plots. In the undisturbed control plots, we found an inverse correlation between B. nana cover and late growing season ALT. These results suggest that the expected expansion of deciduous shrubs in the Arctic region, triggered by climate warming, may reduce summer permafrost thaw. Increased shrub growth may thus partially offset further permafrost degradation by future temperature increases. Permafrost models need to include a dynamic vegetation component to accurately predict future permafrost thaw.

Chloroform emissions from the Alaskan Arctic tundra

Chloroform (trichloromethane, CHCl3) is the second largest carrier of natural chlorine in the troposphere after methyl chloride, contributing to the reactive chlorine burden in the troposphere and to ozone destruction in the stratosphere. Here we report CHCl3 flux measurements from coastal and interior tundra sites in northern Alaska, showing that the Arctic tundra can contribute substantial amounts of CHCl3 to the atmosphere. Emissions were measured during the 2005 and 2006 growing seasons over a range of vegetation types and hydrologic conditions, from wet sedge coastal to upland tussock tundra. Overall emissions averaged 45 nmol m−2 d−1, but fluxes were highly variable, ranging from &lt;1 up to 260 nmol m−2 d−1, with the highest emissions from moist tundra. Laboratory soil core incubations show that flooded conditions sharply reduce emission rates. A rough extrapolation suggests that the tundra globally could account for 1–2% of the total estimated source of atmospheric CHCl3.

Cold-season Production of CO2 in Arctic Soils: Can Laboratory and Field Estimates Be Reconciled through a Simple Modeling Approach?

Microbial activity in arctic tundra soils has been evaluated through both lab incubations and field flux measurements. To determine whether these different measurement approaches can be directly linked to each other, we developed a simple model of soil microbial CO2 production during the cold season in tussock tundra, moss tundra, and wet meadow tundra in the Alaskan Arctic. The model incorporated laboratory-based estimates of microbial temperature responses at sub-zero temperatures with field measurements of C stocks through the soil profile and daily temperature measurements at the sites. Estimates of total CO2 production overestimated in situ cold season CO2 fluxes for the studied sites by as much as two- to threefold, suggesting that either CO2 produced in situ does not efflux during the cold season or that microbial respiration potentials are constrained by some other factor in situ. Average estimated winter CO2 production was near 120 g C m−2 in moist tundra and 60 g C m−2 in wet meadow tundra. Production was strongly seasonal, with most of the winter CO2 production happening early in the winter, before soils froze completely through. Roughly two-thirds of the total estimated CO2 production was from deep soils, largely mineral soils, in contrast to growing season CO2 dynamics.

Plant communities and soils in cryoturbated tundra along a bioclimate gradient in the Low Arctic, Alaska

Nonsorted circles and earth hummocks are important landscape components of the arctic tundra. Here we describe the vegetation on these frost-heave features at seven study sites along a N-S-transect from the Arctic Ocean to the Arctic Foothills, Alaska. We established 117 releves in frost-heave features and surrounding tundra and classified the vegetation according to the Braun-Blanquet sorted-table method. We used Detrended Correspondence Analysis to analyze relationships between vegetation and environmental variables. We identified nine communities: Braya purpurascens-Puccinellia angustata community (dry nonsorted circles, subzone C); Dryas integrifolia-Salix arctica community (dry tundra, subzone C); Sal ic i rotundifol iae-Caricetum aquati l is ass. nov. (moist coastal tundra, subzone C); Junco biglumis-Dryadetum integrifol iae ass. nov. (moist nonsorted circles, subzone D); Dryado integrifol iae-Caricetum bigelowii Walker et al. 1994 (moist tundra, subzone D); Scorpidium scorpioides-Carex aquatilis community (wet tundra, subzone D); Cladino-Vaccinietum vit isidaeae ass. nov. (dry nonsorted circles and earth hummocks, subzone E); Sphagno-Eriophoretum vaginati Walker et al. 1994 (moist tundra, subzone E); and Anthelia juratzkanaJuncus biglumis community (wet nonsorted circles, subzone E). The DCA ordination displayed the vegetation types with respect to complex environmental gradients. The first axis of the ordination corresponds to a bioclimate/pH gradient, and the second axis corresponds to a disturbance/soil moisture gradient. Frost-heave features are dominated by lichens, whereas the adjacent tundra supports more dwarf shrubs, graminoids and mosses. Frost-heave features have greater thaw depths, more bare ground, thinner organic horizons and lower soil moisture than the surrounding tundra. The morphology of frost-heave features changes along the climatic gradient, with large, barren nonsorted circles dominating the northern sites and vegetated, less active earth hummocks dotting the southern sites. Thawing of permafrost and a possible shift in plant community composition due to global warming could lead to a decline in frost-heave features and result in the loss of landscape heterogeneity.

Vegetation responses in Alaskan arctic tundra after 8 years of a summer warming and winter snow manipulation experiment

AbstractWe used snow fences and small (1 m2) open‐topped fiberglass chambers (OTCs) to study the effects of changes in winter snow cover and summer air temperatures on arctic tundra. In 1994, two 60 m long, 2.8 m high snow fences, one in moist and the other in dry tundra, were erected at Toolik Lake, Alaska. OTCs paired with unwarmed plots, were placed along each experimental snow gradient and in control areas adjacent to the snowdrifts. After 8 years, the vegetation of the two sites, including that in control plots, had changed significantly. At both sites, the cover of shrubs, live vegetation, and litter, together with canopy height, had all increased, while lichen cover and diversity had decreased. At the moist site, bryophytes decreased in cover, while an increase in graminoids was almost entirely because of the response of the sedgeEriophorum vaginatum. These community changes were consistent with results found in studies of responses to warming and increased nutrient availability in the Arctic. However, during the time period of the experiment, summer temperature did not increase, but summer precipitation increased by 28%. The snow addition treatment affected species abundance, canopy height, and diversity, whereas the summer warming treatment had few measurable effects on vegetation. The interannual temperature fluctuation was considerably larger than the temperature increases within OTCs (&lt;2°C), however. Snow addition also had a greater effect on microclimate by insulating vegetation from winter wind and temperature extremes, modifying winter soil temperatures, and increasing spring run‐off. Most increases in shrub cover and canopy height occurred in the medium snow‐depth zone (0.5–2 m) of the moist site, and the medium to deep snow‐depth zone (2–3 m) of the dry site. At the moist tundra site, deciduous shrubs, particularlyBetula nana, increased in cover, while evergreen shrubs decreased. These differential responses were likely because of the larger production to biomass ratio in deciduous shrubs, combined with their more flexible growth response under changing environmental conditions. At the dry site, where deciduous shrubs were a minor part of the vegetation, evergreen shrubs increased in both cover and canopy height. These changes in abundance of functional groups are expected to affect most ecological processes, particularly the rate of litter decomposition, nutrient cycling, and both soil carbon and nitrogen pools. Also, changes in canopy structure, associated with increases in shrub abundance, are expected to alter the summer energy balance by increasing net radiation and evapotranspiration, thus altering soil moisture regimes.

Differences in Surface Roughness, Energy, and CO2 Fluxes in Two Moist Tundra Vegetation Types, Kuparuk Watershed, Alaska, U.S.A

Roughly 70% of the tundra north of the Brooks Range, Alaska, can be classified as moist nonacidic (39%) and moist acidic tundra (31%). We investigated the differences in energy partitioning and carbon balance among these two important landscape types. Despite structural differences in plant growth forms, moss cover, and soil pH, the sensible and latent heat fluxes were quite similar. However, aerodynamic properties (i.e. roughness length), ground heat flux, and CO2 flux were significantly different: aerodynamic roughness of moist acidic tundra was 2.1 times higher than, and ground heat flux was 36% lower than the values obtained from moist nonacidic tundra. Daily carbon balance showed 26% more net CO2 uptake (with 34% greater ecosystem respiration and 30% greater gross primary production) in moist acidic tundra. The greater respiration rate in moist acidic tundra was explained by differences in surface soil temperatures, whereas the rate of gross primary production was only half of what was expected from observed differences in leaf area index. These differences suggest that understanding the controls of CO2 exchange in nonacidic moist tundra vegetation will be critical for determining the carbon budget of the Low Arctic region.

Effects on the Function of Arctic Ecosystems in the Short- and Long-term Perspectives

Historically, the function of Arctic ecosystems in terms of cycles of nutrients and carbon has led to low levels of primary production and exchanges of energy, water and greenhouse gases have led to low local and regional cooling. Sequestration of carbon from atmospheric CO2, in extensive, cold organic soils and the high albedo from low, snow-covered vegetation have had impacts on regional climate. However, many aspects of the functioning of Arctic ecosystems are sensitive to changes in climate and its impacts on biodiversity. The current Arctic climate results in slow rates of organic matter decomposition. Arctic ecosystems therefore tend to accumulate organic matter and elements despite low inputs. As a result, soil-available elements like nitrogen and phosphorus are key limitations to increases in carbon fixation and further biomass and organic matter accumulation. Climate warming is expected to increase carbon and element turnover, particularly in soils, which may lead to initial losses of elements but eventual, slow recovery. Individual species and species diversity have clear impacts on element inputs and retention in Arctic ecosystems. Effects of increased CO2 and UV-B on whole ecosystems, on the other hand, are likely to be small although effects on plant tissue chemisty, decomposition and nitrogen fixation may become important in the long-term. Cycling of carbon in trace gas form is mainly as CO2 and CH4. Most carbon loss is in the form of CO2, produced by both plants and soil biota. Carbon emissions as methane from wet and moist tundra ecosystems are about 5% of emissions as CO2 and are responsive to warming in the absence of any other changes. Winter processes and vegetation type also affect CH4 emissions as well as exchanges of energy between biosphere and atmosphere. Arctic ecosystems exhibit the largest seasonal changes in energy exchange of any terrestrial ecosystem because of the large changes in albedo from late winter, when snow reflects most incoming radiation, to summer when the ecosystem absorbs most incoming radiation. Vegetation profoundly influences the water and energy exchange of Arctic ecosystems. Albedo during the period of snow cover declines from tundra to forest tundra to deciduous forest to evergreen forest. Shrubs and trees increase snow depth which in turn increases winter soil temperatures. Future changes in vegetation driven by climate change are therefore, very likely to profoundly alter regional climate.

Controls over intra-seasonal dynamics of AVHRR NDVI for the Arctic tundra in northern Alaska

We analysed the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), calculated from biweekly NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images for northern Alaska at both regional (latitudinal gradients) and site scales. Our objectives were to determine if tundra types and arctic subzones could be differentiated in terms of intra-seasonal patterns of greenness, and to construct the relationships between NDVI and air and soil temperatures. There were common intra-seasonal patterns of NDVI along two latitudinal transects, and a general latitudinal gradient of time of greenness onset and length of growing season was observed. At the site scale, in most cases, wet tundra (WT) had the lowest NDVI values throughout the year, while shrub tundra (ST) had the highest values. The peak NDVI appeared in the period of 22 July to 4 August, with mean values of 0.552 for ST, 0.495 for moist acidic tundra (MAT), 0.434 for sandy tundra (Sandy), 0.426 for moist non-acidic tundra (MNT) and 0.343 for WT. The earliest onset of greenness occurred in ST, followed by MAT, Sandy and MNT, while WT had the latest onset. There were positive linear relationships between bi-weekly NDVI anomalies and air temperature, soil surface temperature, and 20 cm depth soil temperature anomalies in the region. Plant functional type abundances, tundra type, air and soil temperatures all appeared to influence the seasonal dynamics of NDVI.

Fine root production and nutrient content in wet and moist arctic tundras as influenced by chronic fertilization

We used ingrowth cores to estimate fine root production in organic soils of wet sedge and moist tundra ecosystems near Toolik Lake on Alaska's North Slope. Root-free soil cores contained in nylon mesh tubes (5 cm diameter, 20–30 cm long) were placed in control and chronically fertilized (N plus P) plots in mid-August 1994 and were retrieved 1 year later. Estimated fine root production in control plots was 75 g m−2 year−1 in wet sedge and 56 g m−2 year−1 in moist tussock tundra. Fine root production in fertilized plots was 85 g m−2 year−1 in wet sedge and 67 g m−2 year−1 in moist tussock tundra. Although our estimates of fine root production were higher on fertilized than control plots, differences were not statistically significant within either tundra type. Comparisons between our estimates of fine root production and other estimates of aboveground (plus rhizome) production on the same (wet sedge tundra) or similar (moist tussock tundra) plots suggest that fine root production was about one-third of total net primary production (NPP) under non-fertilized conditions and about one-fifth of total NPP under chronic fertilization. Fine root N and P concentrations increased with fertilization in both tundra types, but P concentrations increased more than N concentrations in wet sedge tundra, whereas relative increases in N and P concentrations in moist tundra roots were similar. These data are consistent with other studies suggesting that NPP in wet sedge tundra is often P limited and that co-limitation by N and P is more important in moist tussock tundra.

SPECIES COMPOSITION INTERACTS WITH FERTILIZER TO CONTROL LONG-TERM CHANGE IN TUNDRA PRODUCTIVITY

Fifteen years of N and P fertilizer addition to an Alaskan moist tundra increased aboveground biomass and primary production by 2.5 times. Species composition of the fertilized vegetation also changed dramatically, from a mix of graminoid, evergreen, deciduous, and moss species to strong dominance by a single, deciduous shrub species, Betula nana. Analysis of these simultaneous changes allows insights into the interactions between changes in resource availability and changes in species composition in regulating vegetation biomass, production, and element use. By the 15th year (1995), both new leaf production and total leaf mass were lower in fertilized than in control plots, although leaf area in fertilized plots was twice that of controls. This occurred because Betula produced thinner leaves than other species, with a high specific leaf area (SLA, leaf area per unit leaf mass). Woody stem mass also increased dramatically in fertilized plots, with secondary growth accounting for over half of aboveground net primary production, NPP. The large increase in wood production was made possible, in part, by the low cost of production of Betula's thin leaves, allowing greater allocation to secondary growth. Wood also had lower N concentrations than leaves, allowing large accumulations of wood at low N cost. Overall, aboveground N concentration in Betula did not change in fertilized relative to control plots, because its low-N wood mass increased more than its high-N leaf mass (with high SLA). Because Betula was so strongly dominant on the fertilized plots and was better able to dilute its greater N supply with new growth, community production and biomass in fertilized plots were higher, and N concentration was lower, than would have been the case if species composition had not changed. Aboveground biomass and leaf area of individual species and functional types were predicted accurately by regression against the number of hits per point-frame pin across the full range of data, including both treatments. Changes in overall canopy structure and leaf display due to fertilization were thus due mainly to changes in species composition, with no detectable effect of treatment on size/structure relationships within species or functional types.

Modelling carbon responses of tundra ecosystems to historical and projected climate: a comparison of a plot- and a global-scale ecosystem model to identify process-based uncertainties.

We are developing a process-based modelling approach to investigate how carbon (C) storage of tundra across the entire Arctic will respond to projected climate change. To implement the approach, the processes that are least understood, and thus have the most uncertainty, need to be identified and studied. In this paper, we identified a key uncertainty by comparing the responses of C storage in tussock tundra at one site between the simulations of two models - one a global-scale ecosystem model (Terrestrial Ecosystem Model, TEM) and one a plot-scale ecosystem model (General Ecosystem Model, GEM). The simulations spanned the historical period (1921-94) and the projected period (1995-2100). In the historical period, the model simulations of net primary production (NPP) differed in their sensitivity to variability in climate. However, the long-term changes in C storage were similar in both simulations, because the dynamics of heterotrophic respiration (RH ) were similar in both models. In contrast, the responses of C storage in the two model simulations diverged during the projected period. In the GEM simulation for this period, increases in RH tracked increases in NPP, whereas in the TEM simulation increases in RH lagged increases in NPP. We were able to make the long-term C dynamics of the two simulations agree by parameterizing TEM to the fast soil C pools of GEM. We concluded that the differences between the long-term C dynamics of the two simulations lay in modelling the role of the recalcitrant soil C. These differences, which reflect an incomplete understanding of soil processes, lead to quite different projections of the response of pan-Arctic C storage to global change. For example, the reference parameterization of TEM resulted in an estimate of cumulative C storage of 2032 g C m-2 for moist tundra north of 50°N, which was substantially higher than the 463 g C m-2 estimated for a parameterization of fast soil C dynamics. This uncertainty in the depiction of the role of recalcitrant soil C in long-term ecosystem C dynamics resulted from our incomplete understanding of controls over C and N transformations in Arctic soils. Mechanistic studies of these issues are needed to improve our ability to model the response of Arctic ecosystems to global change.

Annual CO2 Flux in Dry and Moist Arctic Tundra: Field Responses to Increases in Summer Temperatures and Winter Snow Depth

We examined the annual exchange of CO2 between the atmosphere and moist tussock and dry heath tundra ecosystems (which together account for over one-third of the low arctic land area) under ambient field conditions and under increased winter snow deposition, increased summer temperatures, or both. Our results indicate that these two arctic tundra ecosystems were net annual sources of CO2 to the atmosphere from September 1994 to September 1996 under ambient weather conditions and under our three climate change scenarios. Carbon was lost from these ecosystems in both winter and summer, although the majority of CO2 evolution took place during the short summer. Our results indicate that (1) warmer summer temperatures will increase annual CO2 efflux from both moist and dry tundra ecosystems by 45–55% compared to current ambient temperatures; (2) deeper winter snow cover will increase winter CO2 efflux in both moist and dry tundra ecosystems, but will decrease net summer CO2 efflux; and (3) deeper winter snow cover coupled with warmer summer temperatures will nearly double the annual amount of CO2 emitted from moist tundra and will result in a 24% increase in the annual CO2 efflux of dry tundra. If, as predicted, climate change alters both winter snow deposition and summer temperatures, then shifts in CO2 exchange between the biosphere and atmosphere will likely not be uniform across the Arctic tundra landscape. Increased snow deposition in dry tundra is likely to have a larger effect on annual CO2 flux than warmer summer temperatures alone or warmer temperatures coupled with increased winter snow depth. The combined effects of increased summer temperatures and winter snow deposition on annual CO2 flux in moist tundra will be much larger than the effects of either climate change scenario alone.

Landsat MSS-derived land-cover map of northern Alaska: Extrapolation methods and a comparison with photo-interpreted and AVHRR-derived maps

Vegetation maps of Arctic areas are needed for a variety of tundra ecosystem and climate change studies and for extrapolating from relatively small, well-known sites to broader regions. We made a preliminary land-cover map of northern Alaska by extrapolating a Landsat Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) derived classification of the Kuparuk River Region (KRR) to all of northern Alaska. We used a 26-scene mosaic that was previously made by the EROS Data Center, and a K-means unsupervised classification algorithm to produce eight broad land-cover categories. The northern Alaska-MSS map (NA-MSS) has the following land-cover categories and respective percentage coverage within the 200000km2 Arctic Slope: Dry Prostrate-shrub Tundra and Barrens, 8%; Moist Graminoid, Prostrate-shrub Tundra, 22%; Moist Tussock-graminoid, Dwarf-shrub Tundra, 4%; Moist Dwarf-shrub, Tussock-graminoid, Tundra, 28%; Moist Lowshrub Tundra and other Shrublands, 19%; Wet Graminoid Tundra, 9%; Water, 6%; Clouds and ice, <1%; Shadows, 4%. Ancillary data were used to improve the classification for a region of sandy tundra not encountered in the KRR and to separate shadows in the mountains from water and wetlands elsewhere. The NA-MSS map helps to define the distribution of a recently described moist nonacidic (calcareous) tundra and areas of shrublands that are of broad interest to the tundra- and climate-change modelling communities. A boundary separating moist acidic tundra from moist nonacidic tundra stretches across all of northern Alaska (about 850km). Shrub-dominated tundra is prevalent in the southern and western (warmer, wetter) portions of the map. We created difference maps for comparing the northern Alaska-MSS (NA-MSS) map to the Major Ecosystems of Alaska (MEA) map and a map derived from a time series of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer images (NA-AVHRR). Compared to the other maps, the NA-MSS map provides more detailed information for moist tundra areas and shows more shrub-dominated vegetation with different spatial distributions than the other two maps. An accuracy assessment of the map will be performed in 1999.