| 1. |
- Becher, Marina, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Cryogenic disturbance and its impact on carbon fluxes in a subarctic heathland
- 2015
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 10:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Differential frost heave, along with the associated cryogenic disturbance that accompanies it, is an almost universal feature of arctic landscapes that potentially influences the fate of the soil carbon (C) stored in arctic soils. In this study, we quantify how gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP), soil respiration (Re) and the resulting net ecosystem exchange (NEE) vary in a patterned ground system (non-sorted circles) at plot-scale and whole-patterned ground scales in response to cryogenic disturbances (differential heave and soil surface disruption). We found that: (i) all studied non-sorted circles (n=15) acted as net CO2 sources (positive NEE); (ii) GEP showed a weaker decrease than Re in response to increased cryogenic disturbance/decreased humus cover, indicating that undisturbed humus-covered sites are currently the main source of atmospheric CO2 in the studied system. Interestingly, Re fluxes normalized to C pools indicated that C is currently respired more rapidly at sites exposed to cryogenic disturbances; hence, higher NEE fluxes at less disturbed sites are likely an effect of a more slowly degrading but larger total pool that was built up in the past. Our results highlight the complex effects of cryogenic processes on the C cycle at various time scales.
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| 2. |
- Becher, Marina, 1983-
(författare)
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Cryogenic soil processes in a changing climate
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A considerable part of the global pool of terrestrial carbon is stored in high latitude soils. In these soils, repeated cycles of freezing and thawing creates soil motion (cryoturbation) that in combination with other cryogenic disturbance processes may play a profound role in controlling the carbon balance of the arctic soil. Conditions for cryogenic soil processes are predicted to dramatically change in response to the ongoing climate warming, but little is known how these changes may affect the ability of arctic soils to accumulate carbon. In this thesis, I utilize a patterned ground system, referred to as non-sorted circles, as experimental units and quantify how cryogenic soil processes affect plant communities and carbon fluxes in arctic soils. I show that the cryoturbation has been an important mechanism for transporting carbon downwards in the studied soil over the last millennia. Interestingly, burial of organic material by cryoturbation appears to have mainly occurred during bioclimatic events occurring around A.D. 900-1250 and A.D. 1650-1950 as indicated by inferred 14C ages. Using a novel photogrammetric approach, I estimate that about 0.2-0.8 % of the carbon pool is annually subjected to a net downward transport induced by the physical motion of soil. Even though this flux seems small, it suggests that cryoturbation is an important transporter of carbon over centennial and millennial timescales and contributes to translocate organic matter to deeper soil layers where respiration proceeds at slow rates. Cryogenic processes not only affect the trajectories of the soil carbon, but also generate plant community changes in both species composition and abundance, as indicated by a conducted plant survey on non-sorted circles subjected to variable differential frost heave during the winter. Here, disturbance-tolerant plant species, such as Carex capillaris and Tofieldia pusilla, seem to be favoured by disturbance generated by the differential heave. Comparison with findings from a previous plant survey on the site conducted in the 1980s suggest that the warmer temperatures during the last decades have resulted in decreased differential heave in the studied non-sorted circles. I argue that this change in cryogenic activity has increased abundance of plants present in the 1980s. The fact that the activity and function of the non-sorted circles in Abisko are undergoing changes is further supported by their contemporary carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes. Here, my measurements of CO2 fluxes suggest that all studied non-sorted circles act as net CO2 sources and thus that the carbon balance of the soils are in a transition state. My results highlight the complex but important relationship between cryogenic soil processes and the carbon balance of arctic soils.
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| 3. |
- Becher, Marina, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Decreased cryogenic disturbance : one of the potential mechanisms behind the vegetation change in the Arctic
- 2018
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Ingår i: Polar Biology. - : Springer. - 0722-4060 .- 1432-2056. ; 41:1, s. 101-110
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the last few decades, the Arctic has experienced large-scale vegetation changes. Understanding the mechanisms behind this vegetation change is crucial for our ability to predict future changes. This study tested the hypothesis that decreased cryogenic disturbances cause vegetation change in patterned ground study fields (non-sorted circles) in Abisko, Sweden during the last few decades. The hypothesis was tested by surveying the composition of plant communities across a gradient in cryogenic disturbance and by reinvestigating plant communities previously surveyed in the 1980s to scrutinise how these communities changed in response to reduced cryogenic disturbance. Whereas the historical changes in species occurrence associated with decreased cryogenic disturbances were relatively consistent with the changes along the contemporary gradient of cryogenic disturbances, the species abundance revealed important transient changes highly dependent on the initial plant community composition. Our results suggest that altered cryogenic disturbances cause temporal changes in vegetation dynamics, but the net effects on vegetation communities depend on the composition of initial plant species.
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| 4. |
- Becher, Marina, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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The use of terrestrial photogrammetry to estimate soil motion rates in non-sorted circles
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Soil motion induced by cryogenic processes is known for creating soil surface structures (patterned ground) and redistributing carbon within Arctic soils. Lateral and vertical soil motion created by cryogenic processes proceeds over annual to millennial time-scales and is difficult to quantify without adopting disruptive soil sampling techniques. In this study, we evaluate the use of terrestrial close range photogrammetry to calculate soil motion rates within a patterned ground system (non-sorted circles). The measured rates of lateral and vertical motion were estimated and used to infer the importance of physical soil transport for the formation of non-sorted circles as well as the trajectories of soil carbon. Soil experiencing significant vertical displacement between years covered approximately 65% of the non-sorted circles and had surface levels fluctuating between 4 and -2.1 cm. Systematic lateral motion of surface stones allowed detection of lateral motion working outwards from the centre towards the sides, at rates ranging between 0.1 and 6.3 cm yr-1. We conclude that terrestrial close range photogrammetry can be used to identify the main soil movements within non-sorted circles and that this transport is an important factor controlling the trajectories of soil carbon over centennial to millennial timescales.
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| 5. |
- Nyman, Alexandra, et al.
(författare)
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A nationwide acid sulfate soil study : A rapid and cost-efficient approach for characterizing large-scale features
- 2023
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 869
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Acid sulfate soils are sulfide-rich soils that pose a notable environmental risk as their strong acidity and low pH mobilizes metals from soil minerals leading to both acidification and metal contamination of the surrounding environment. In this study a rapid and cost-efficient approach was developed to resolve the main distribution patterns and geochemical features of acid sulfate soils throughout coastal plains stretching for some 2000 km in eastern, southern, and western Sweden. Of the investigated 126 field sites, 47 % had acid sulfate soils including 33 % active, 12 % potential, and 2 % pseudo acid sulfate soils. There were large regional variations in the extent of acid sulfate soils, with overall much higher proportions of these soils along the eastern coastal plains facing the Baltic Sea than the western coastal plains facing the Kattegatt/Skagerrak (Atlantic Ocean). The sulfur concentrations of the soil's parent material, consisting of reduced near-pH neutral sediments, were correlated inversely both with the minimum pH of the soils in situ (rS = −0.65) and the pH after incubation (oxidation) of the reduced sediments (rS = −0.77). This indicated the importance of sulfide levels in terms of both present and potential future acidification. Hence, the higher proportion of acid sulfate soils in the east was largely the result of higher sulfur concentrations in this part of the country. The study showed that the approach was successful in identifying large-scale spatial patterns and geochemical characteristics of importance for environmental assessments related to these environmentally unfriendly soils.
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