Permafrost collapse after shrub removal shifts tundra ecosystem to a methane source

Nauta, A.L.; Heijmans, M.M.P.D.; Blok, Daan; Limpens, Juul; Elberling, Bo; Gallagher, A.; Li, Bingxi; Petrov, Roman E.; Maximov, Trofim C.; Huissteden, J. van; Berendse, F.

doi:10.1038/nclimate2446

Cited by 164 publications

(214 citation statements)

References 28 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

206

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…et al, 2014). This result, however, contrasts with the active layer thickening generally observed in response to climate warming (Tarnocai et al, 2004;Woo et al, 2007;Akerman and Johansson 2008;Smith et al, 2009;Nauta et al, 2015), and this is likely due in part to ground surface subsidence and drainage which follows ice-rich permafrost thawing (Shiklomanov et al, 2013) and in part to snow accumulation patterns . Within 5 years of drainage, thaw-front depth in disturbed polygons decreased by 37 % compared to that in wet polygons.…”

Section: Transient Environmental Conditionscontrasting

confidence: 53%

“…In wet polygonal tundra of Northern Siberia, Kutzbach et al (2004) found for instance that dense Carex aquatilis stands emitted more methane than sites with low Carex densities. Overall, wetland and lake expansion are thought to increase methane emission but also carbon storage (Myers-Smith, 2005;Nauta et al, 2015;Treat et al, 2015;Bouchard et al, 2015). We can therefore expect that the reverse transition from wet to mesic environments observed within our low-centered polygon landscape would lead to reduced methane emission and increased CO 2 emission through enhanced decomposition.…”

Section: Impacts On Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wetlands serve as preferred grounds for Arctic herbivores such as snow geese (Gauthier et al, 1996;Massé et al, 2001;Doiron et al, 2014). They are also expected to produce more methane compared to shrub-dominated areas (Olefeldt et al, 2013;Nauta et al, 2015;Treat et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Thermo-erosion gullies boost the transition from wet to mesic tundra vegetation

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Continuous permafrost zones with well-developed polygonal ice-wedge networks are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Thermo-mechanical erosion can initiate the development of gullies that lead to substantial drainage of adjacent wet habitats. How vegetation responds to this particular disturbance is currently unknown but has the potential to significantly disrupt function and structure of Arctic ecosystems. Focusing on three major gullies of Bylot Island, Nunavut, we estimated the impacts of thermoerosion processes on plant community changes. We explored over 2 years the influence of environmental factors on plant species richness, abundance and biomass in 62 low-centered wet polygons, 87 low-centered disturbed polygons and 48 mesic environment sites. Gullying decreased soil moisture by 40 % and thaw-front depth by 10 cm in the center of breached polygons within less than 5 years after the inception of ice wedge degradation, entailing a gradual yet marked vegetation shift from wet to mesic plant communities within 5 to 10 years. This transition was accompanied by a five times decrease in graminoid above-ground biomass. Soil moisture and thaw-front depth changed almost immediately following gullying initiation as they were of similar magnitude between older (> 5 years) and recently (< 5 years) disturbed polygons. In contrast, there was a lag-time in vegetation response to the altered physical environment with plant species richness and biomass differing between the two types of disturbed polygons. To date (10 years after disturbance), the stable state of the mesic environment cover has not been fully reached yet. Our results illustrate that wetlands are highly vulnerable to thermo-erosion processes, which drive landscape transformation on a relative short period of time for High Arctic perennial plant communities (5 to 10 years). Such succession towards mesic plant communities can have substantial consequences on the food availability for herbivores and carbon emissions of Arctic ecosystems.

show abstract

Section: Transient Environmental Conditionscontrasting

confidence: 53%

Section: Impacts On Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Thermo-erosion gullies boost the transition from wet to mesic tundra vegetation

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…21946 in Chokurdakh), 30 km south of the study site (http://climexp.knmi.nl/). The mean annual temperature at Chokurdakh is -13.4°C, and the mean annual precipitation is 196 mm (Nauta et al 2015). The mean July temperature of the same period is 10.3°C.…”

Section: Site Description and Climate Datamentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Support for no shrub expansion comes from satellite NDVI records showing no greening trend for the study region over (Blok et al 2015. Local permafrost degradation resulting in thaw pond development and drowning of shrubs could have prevented net shrub expansion (Nauta et al 2015). The negative precipitation trend is not unique to the study area, but also occurred in some other locations, particularly in the High Arctic (Urban et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussion Climatic Change and Ramet Establishmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of summer precipitation and summer temperature in establishment and growth of dwarf shrub Betula nana in northeast Siberian tundra

Heijmans

Berendse

et al. 2015

Polar Biol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is widely believed that deciduous tundrashrub dominance is increasing in the pan-Arctic region, mainly due to rising temperature. We sampled dwarf birch (Betula nana L.) at a northeastern Siberian tundra site and used dendrochronological methods to explore the relationship between climatic variables and local shrub dominance. We found that establishment of shrub ramets was positively related to summer precipitation, which implies that the current high dominance of B. nana at our study site could be related to high summer precipitation in the period from 1960 to 1990. The results confirmed that early summer temperature is most influential to annual growth rates of B. nana. In addition, summer precipitation stimulated shrub growth in years with warm summers, suggesting that B. nana growth may be co-limited by summer moisture supply. The dual controlling role of temperature and summer precipitation on B. nana growth and establishment is important to predict future climate-driven vegetation dynamics in the Arctic tundra.

show abstract

Permafrost thaw and soil moisture driving CO₂ and CH₄ release from upland tundra

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As permafrost degrades, the amount of organic soil carbon (C) that thaws during the growing season will increase, but decomposition may be limited by saturated soil conditions common in high-latitude ecosystems. However, in some areas, soil drying is expected to accompany permafrost thaw as a result of increased water drainage, which may enhance C release to the atmosphere. We examined the effects of ecosystem warming, permafrost thaw, and soil moisture changes on C balance in an upland tundra ecosystem. This study was conducted at a water table drawdown experiment, established in 2011 and located within the Carbon in Permafrost Experimental Heating Research project, an ecosystem warming and permafrost thawing experiment in Alaska. Warming and drying increased cumulative growing season ecosystem respiration by~20% over 3 years of this experiment. Warming caused an almost twofold increase in decomposition of a common substrate in surface soil (0-10 cm) across all years, and drying caused a twofold increase in decomposition (0-20 cm) relative to control after 3 years of drying. Decomposition of older C increased in the dried and in the combined warmed + dried plots based on soil pore space 14 CO 2 . Although upland tundra systems have been considered CH 4 sinks, warming and ground thaw significantly increased CH 4 emission rates. Water table depth was positively correlated with monthly respiration and negatively correlated with CH 4 emission rates. These results demonstrate that warming and drying may increase loss of old permafrost C from tundra ecosystems, but the form and magnitude of C released to the atmosphere will be driven by changes in soil moisture.

show abstract

Permafrost collapse after shrub removal shifts tundra ecosystem to a methane source

Cited by 164 publications

References 28 publications

Thermo-erosion gullies boost the transition from wet to mesic tundra vegetation

Thermo-erosion gullies boost the transition from wet to mesic tundra vegetation

The role of summer precipitation and summer temperature in establishment and growth of dwarf shrub Betula nana in northeast Siberian tundra

Permafrost thaw and soil moisture driving CO₂ and CH₄ release from upland tundra

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Permafrost collapse after shrub removal shifts tundra ecosystem to a methane source

Cited by 164 publications

References 28 publications

Thermo-erosion gullies boost the transition from wet to mesic tundra vegetation

Thermo-erosion gullies boost the transition from wet to mesic tundra vegetation

The role of summer precipitation and summer temperature in establishment and growth of dwarf shrub Betula nana in northeast Siberian tundra

Permafrost thaw and soil moisture driving CO2 and CH4 release from upland tundra

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Permafrost thaw and soil moisture driving CO₂ and CH₄ release from upland tundra