| 1. |
- Elmendorf, Sarah C., et al.
(författare)
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Plot-scale evidence of tundra vegetation change and links to recent summer warming
- 2012
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Ingår i: Nature Climate Change. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1758-678X .- 1758-6798. ; 2:6, s. 453-457
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Temperature is increasing at unprecedented rates across most of the tundra biome. Remote-sensing data indicate that contemporary climate warming has already resulted in increased productivity over much of the Arctic, but plot-based evidence for vegetation transformation is not widespread. We analysed change in tundra vegetation surveyed between 1980 and 2010 in 158 plant communities spread across 46 locations.We found biome-wide trends of increased height of the plant canopy and maximum observed plant height for most vascular growth forms; increased abundance of litter; increased abundance of evergreen, low-growing and tall shrubs; and decreased abundance of bare ground. Intersite comparisons indicated an association between the degree of summer warming and change in vascular plant abundance, with shrubs, forbs and rushes increasing with warming. However, the association was dependent on the climate zone, the moisture regime and the presence of permafrost. Our data provide plot-scale evidence linking changes in vascular plant abundance to local summer warming in widely dispersed tundra locations across the globe.
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| 2. |
- Abbott, Benjamin W., et al.
(författare)
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Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire : an expert assessment
- 2016
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 11:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets. Precise empirical or model-based assessments of the critical factors driving carbon balance are unlikely in the near future, so to address this gap, we present estimates from 98 permafrost-region experts of the response of biomass, wildfire, and hydrologic carbon flux to climate change. Results suggest that contrary to model projections, total permafrost-region biomass could decrease due to water stress and disturbance, factors that are not adequately incorporated in current models. Assessments indicate that end-of-the-century organic carbon release from Arctic rivers and collapsing coastlines could increase by 75% while carbon loss via burning could increase four-fold. Experts identified water balance, shifts in vegetation community, and permafrost degradation as the key sources of uncertainty in predicting future system response. In combination with previous findings, results suggest the permafrost region will become a carbon source to the atmosphere by 2100 regardless of warming scenario but that 65%-85% of permafrost carbon release can still be avoided if human emissions are actively reduced.
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| 3. |
- Barthelemy, Hélène, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Defoliation of a grass is mediated by the positive effect of dung deposition, moss removal and enhanced soil nutrient contents : results from a reindeer grazing simulation experiment
- 2019
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 128:10, s. 1515-1524
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Herbivory is one of the key drivers shaping plant community dynamics. Herbivores can strongly influence plant productivity directly through defoliation and the return of nutrients in the form of dung and urine, but also indirectly by reducing the abundance of neighbouring plants and inducing changes in soil processes. However, the relative importance of these processes is poorly understood. We, therefore, established a common garden experiment to study plant responses to defoliation, dung addition, moss cover, and the soil legacy of reindeer grazing. We used an arctic tundra grazed by reindeer as our study system, and Festuca ovina, a common grazing-tolerant grass species as the model species. The soil legacy of reindeer grazing had the strongest effect on plants, and resulted in higher growth in soils originating from previously heavily-grazed sites. Defoliation also had a strong effect and reduced shoot and root growth and nutrient uptake. Plants did not fully compensate for the tissue lost due to defoliation, even when nutrient availability was high. In contrast, defoliation enhanced plant nitrogen concentrations. Dung addition increased plant production, nitrogen concentrations and nutrient uptake, although the effect was fairly small. Mosses also had a positive effect on aboveground plant production as long as the plants were not defoliated. The presence of a thick moss layer reduced plant growth following defoliation. This study demonstrates that grasses, even though they suffer from defoliation, can tolerate high densities of herbivores when all aspects of herbivores on ecosystems are taken into account. Our results further show that the positive effect of herbivores on plant growth via changes in soil properties is essential for plants to cope with a high grazing pressure. The strong effect of the soil legacy of reindeer grazing reveals that herbivores can have long-lasting effects on plant productivity and ecosystem functioning after grazing has ceased.
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| 4. |
- Barthelemy, Hélène, et al.
(författare)
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Defoliation, soil grazing legacy, dung and moss cover influence growth and nutrient uptake of the common grass species, Festuca ovina
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Herbivores can strongly influence plant growth directly through defoliation and the return of nutrients in the form of dung and urine but also indirectly by reducing the abundance of neighbouring plants and inducing changes in soil processes. The relative importance of these driving mechanisms of plant response to herbivory are still poorly understood. In a common garden experiment, we studied the aboveground and belowground responses of Festuca ovina, a grazing tolerant grass common in arctic secondary grassland, to defoliation, reindeer dung addition, changes in soil microclimate induced by the presence or the absence of a moss cover, and soil grazing legacy. Defoliation strongly reduced shoot and root growth and plant nutrient uptake. Plants did thus not compensate for the tissue lost due to defoliation, even at a higher nutrient availability. By contrast, defoliation enhanced plant N concentration and decreased plant C to N ratio. Soil from heavily grazed sites and dung addition increased plant production, plant N concentrations and nutrient uptake, although the effects of dung addition were only small. Mosses had a strong negative effect of root biomass and reduced plant compensatory growth after defoliation. Interestingly mosses also had facilitative effects on aboveground plant growth in absence of defoliation and on plant nutrient uptake and N concentrations. Although plants suffered severely from defoliation, they were also strongly favoured by the increased nutrient availability associated with herbivory. After two years, plants produced as much biomass when all positive and negative effects of herbivores were considered (defoliation, soil communities and nutrient availability under heavily grazing, dung addition and no moss cover) as in the ungrazed conditions (no defoliation, soil communities and nutrient availability under lightly grazing, no dung addition, a thick moss cover). This study indicates that graminoids can tolerate high densities of herbivores, although it suffer from defoliation directly, and suggests that changes in plant quality following defoliation and grazing-induced changes in soil processes are two key mechanisms through which herbivores can control plant productivity in arctic secondary grasslands. Plant tolerance to herbivory will depends on how herbivores utilise a pasture area and on the balance between the positive and the negative effects of grazing on plant growth.
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| 5. |
- Barthelemy, Hélène, 1986-
(författare)
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Herbivores influence nutrient cycling and plant nutrient uptake : insights from tundra ecosystems
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Reindeer appear to have strong positive effects on plant productivity and nutrient cycling in strongly nutrient-limited ecosystems. While the direct effects of grazing on vegetation composition have been intensively studied, much less is known about the indirect effect of grazing on plant-soil interactions. This thesis investigated the indirect effects of ungulate grazing on arctic plant communities via soil nutrient availability and plant nutrient uptake.At high density, the deposition of dung alone increased plant productivity both in nutrient rich and nutrient poor tundra habitats without causing major changes in soil possesses. Plant community responses to dung addition was slow, with a delay of at least some years. By contrast, a 15N-urea tracer study revealed that nutrients from reindeer urine could be rapidly incorporated into arctic plant tissues. Soil and microbial N pools only sequestered small proportions of the tracer. This thesis therefore suggests a strong effect of dung and urine on plant productivity by directly providing nutrient-rich resources, rather than by stimulating soil microbial activities, N mineralization and ultimately increasing soil nutrient availability. Further, defoliation alone did not induce compensatory growth, but resulted in plants with higher nutrient contents. This grazing-induced increase in plant quality could drive the high N cycling in arctic secondary grasslands by providing litter of a better quality to the belowground system and thus increase organic matter decomposition and enhance soil nutrient availability. Finally, a 15N natural abundance study revealed that intense reindeer grazing influences how plants are taking up their nutrients and thus decreased plant N partitioning among coexisting plant species.Taken together these results demonstrate the central role of dung and urine and grazing-induced changes in plant quality for plant productivity. Soil nutrient concentrations alone do not reveal nutrient availability for plants since reindeer have a strong influence on how plants are taking up their nutrients. This thesis highlights that both direct and indirect effects of reindeer grazing are strong determinants of tundra ecosystem functioning. Therefore, their complex influence on the aboveground and belowground linkages should be integrated in future work on tundra ecosystem N dynamic.
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| 6. |
- Bengtsson, Fia, 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental drivers of Sphagnum growth in peatlands across the Holarctic region
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Ecology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 109:1, s. 417-431
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The relative importance of global versus local environmental factors for growth and thus carbon uptake of the bryophyte genusSphagnum-the main peat-former and ecosystem engineer in northern peatlands-remains unclear. We measured length growth and net primary production (NPP) of two abundantSphagnumspecies across 99 Holarctic peatlands. We tested the importance of previously proposed abiotic and biotic drivers for peatland carbon uptake (climate, N deposition, water table depth and vascular plant cover) on these two responses. Employing structural equation models (SEMs), we explored both indirect and direct effects of drivers onSphagnumgrowth. Variation in growth was large, but similar within and between peatlands. Length growth showed a stronger response to predictors than NPP. Moreover, the smaller and denserSphagnum fuscumgrowing on hummocks had weaker responses to climatic variation than the larger and looserSphagnum magellanicumgrowing in the wetter conditions. Growth decreased with increasing vascular plant cover within a site. Between sites, precipitation and temperature increased growth forS. magellanicum. The SEMs indicate that indirect effects are important. For example, vascular plant cover increased with a deeper water table, increased nitrogen deposition, precipitation and temperature. These factors also influencedSphagnumgrowth indirectly by affecting moss shoot density. Synthesis. Our results imply that in a warmer climate,S. magellanicumwill increase length growth as long as precipitation is not reduced, whileS. fuscumis more resistant to decreased precipitation, but also less able to take advantage of increased precipitation and temperature. Such species-specific sensitivity to climate may affect competitive outcomes in a changing environment, and potentially the future carbon sink function of peatlands.
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| 7. |
- Blume-Werry, Gesche, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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Arctic rooting depth distribution influences modelled carbon emissions but cannot be inferred from aboveground vegetation type
- 2023
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Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 240:2, s. 502-514
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The distribution of roots throughout the soil drives depth-dependent plant–soil interactions and ecosystem processes, particularly in arctic tundra where plant biomass, is predominantly belowground. Vegetation is usually classified from aboveground, but it is unclear whether such classifications are suitable to estimate belowground attributes and their consequences, such as rooting depth distribution and its influence on carbon cycling. We performed a meta-analysis of 55 published arctic rooting depth profiles, testing for differences both between distributions based on aboveground vegetation types (Graminoid, Wetland, Erect-shrub, and Prostrate-shrub tundra) and between ‘Root Profile Types’ for which we defined three representative and contrasting clusters. We further analyzed potential impacts of these different rooting depth distributions on rhizosphere priming-induced carbon losses from tundra soils. Rooting depth distribution hardly differed between aboveground vegetation types but varied between Root Profile Types. Accordingly, modelled priming-induced carbon emissions were similar between aboveground vegetation types when they were applied to the entire tundra, but ranged from 7.2 to 17.6 Pg C cumulative emissions until 2100 between individual Root Profile Types. Variations in rooting depth distribution are important for the circumpolar tundra carbon-climate feedback but can currently not be inferred adequately from aboveground vegetation type classifications.
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| 8. |
- Blume-Werry, Gesche, et al.
(författare)
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Dwelling in the deep – permafrost thawing strongly increases plant root growth and root litter input
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Plant roots play a key role in ecosystem carbon and nutrient cycling. Climate warming induced thawing of permafrost exposes large amounts of carbon and nitrogen at greater soil depths that hitherto have been detached from plant influences. Whether plant roots can reach and interact with these carbon and nitrogen sources upon permafrost thaw remains unknown. Here, we use a long-term permafrost thaw experiment and a short-term deep fertilization experiment in northern Sweden to assess changes in vegetation composition and root dynamics (deep nitrogen uptake, root depth distribution, root growth and phenology, root mortality and litter input) related to permafrost thaw, both in active layer and in newly thawed permafrost. We show that Eriophorum vaginatum and Rubus chamaemorus, both relatively deep-rooting species, can take up nitrogen released at depth of permafrost thaw, despite the late release time in autumn when plant activity is expected to have ceased. Also, root dynamics changed drastically after a decade of experimental permafrost thaw. Total root length, root growth and root litter input all strongly increased, not only in the active layer but also in the newly thawed permafrost, and the timing of root growth was related to the seasonality of soil thaw. These responses were driven by Eriophorum vaginatum, which differed greatly in root dynamics compared to the other species and thus worked as an ecosystem engineer. This study demonstrates that soil organic matter currently locked-up at depth in permafrost is no longer detached from plant processes upon thaw. Given the pivotal role that roots have in the carbon cycle and the importance of the large carbon stocks in arctic soils, the changes observed here have the potential to feedback onto the global climate system.
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| 9. |
- Blume-Werry, Gesche, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
-
Dwelling in the deep – strongly increased root growth and rooting depth enhance plant interactions with thawing permafrost soil
- 2019
-
Ingår i: New Phytologist. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0028-646X .- 1469-8137. ; 223:3, s. 1328-1339
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate‐warming‐induced permafrost thaw exposes large amounts of carbon and nitrogen in soil at considerable depths, below the seasonally thawing active layer. The extent to which plant roots can reach and interact with these hitherto detached, deep carbon and nitrogen stores remains unknown.We aimed to quantify how permafrost thaw affects root dynamics across soil depths and plant functional types compared with above‐ground abundance, and potential consequences for plant–soil interactions.A decade of experimental permafrost thaw strongly increased total root length and growth in the active layer, and deep roots invaded the newly thawed permafrost underneath. Root litter input to soil across all depths was 10 times greater with permafrost thaw. Root growth timing was unaffected by experimental permafrost thaw but peaked later in deeper soil, reflecting the seasonally receding thaw front. Deep‐rooting species could sequester 15N added at the base of the ambient active layer in October, which was after root growth had ceased.Deep soil organic matter that has long been locked up in permafrost is thus no longer detached from plant processes upon thaw. Whether via nutrient uptake, carbon storage, or rhizosphere priming, plant root interactions with thawing permafrost soils may feed back on our climate both positively and negatively.
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| 10. |
- Bokhorst, Stef Frederik, et al.
(författare)
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Variable temperature effects of Open Top Chambers at polar and alpine sites explained by irradiance and snow depth
- 2013
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 19:1, s. 64-74
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Environmental manipulation studies are integral to determining biological consequences of climate warming. Open Top Chambers (OTCs) have been widely used to assess summer warming effects on terrestrial biota, with their effects during other seasons normally being given less attention even though chambers are often deployed year-round. In addition, their effects on temperature extremes and freeze-thaw events are poorly documented. To provide robust documentation of the microclimatic influences of OTCs throughout the year, we analysed temperature data from 20 studies distributed across polar and alpine regions. The effects of OTCs on mean temperature showed a large range (-0.9 to 2.1 degrees C) throughout the year, but did not differ significantly between studies. Increases in mean monthly and diurnal temperature were strongly related (R-2 = 0.70) with irradiance, indicating that PAR can be used to predict the mean warming effect of OTCs. Deeper snow trapped in OTCs also induced higher temperatures at soil/vegetation level. OTC-induced changes in the frequency of freeze-thaw events included an increase in autumn and decreases in spring and summer. Frequency of high-temperature events in OTCs increased in spring, summer and autumn compared with non-manipulated control plots. Frequency of low-temperature events was reduced by deeper snow accumulation and higher mean temperatures. The strong interactions identified between aspects of ambient environmental conditions and effects of OTCs suggest that a detailed knowledge of snow depth, temperature and irradiance levels enables us to predict how OTCs will modify the microclimate at a particular site and season. Such predictive power allows a better mechanistic understanding of observed biotic response to experimental warming studies and for more informed design of future experiments. However, a need remains to quantify OTC effects on water availability and wind speed (affecting, for example, drying rates and water stress) in combination with microclimate measurements at organism level.
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| 11. |
- Cornwell, William K., et al.
(författare)
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Plant species traits are the predominant control on litter decomposition rates within biomes worldwide
- 2008
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Ingår i: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 11:10, s. 1065-1071
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Worldwide decomposition rates depend both on climate and the legacy of plant functional traits as litter quality. To quantify the degree to which functional differentiation among species affects their litter decomposition rates, we brought together leaf trait and litter mass loss data for 818 species from 66 decomposition experiments on six continents. We show that: (i) the magnitude of species-driven differences is much larger than previously thought and greater than climate-driven variation; (ii) the decomposability of a species' litter is consistently correlated with that species' ecological strategy within different ecosystems globally, representing a new connection between whole plant carbon strategy and biogeochemical cycling. This connection between plant strategies and decomposability is crucial for both understanding vegetation-soil feedbacks, and for improving forecasts of the global carbon cycle.
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| 12. |
- De Long, Jonathan, et al.
(författare)
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Contrasting Responses of Soil Microbial and Nematode Communities to Warming and Plant Functional Group Removal Across a Post-fire Boreal Forest Successional Gradient
- 2016
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Ingår i: Ecosystems (New York. Print). - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-9840 .- 1435-0629. ; 19:2, s. 339-355
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Global warming is causing increases in surface temperatures and has the potential to influence the structure of soil microbial and faunal communities. However, little is known about how warming interacts with other ecosystem drivers, such as plant functional groups or changes associated with succession, to affect the soil community and thereby alter ecosystem functioning. We investigated how experimental warming and the removal of plant functional groups along a post-fire boreal forest successional gradient impacted soil microbial and nematode communities. Our results showed that warming altered soil microbial communities and favored bacterial-based microbial communities, but these effects were mediated by mosses and shrubs, and often varied with successional stage. Meanwhile, the nematode community was generally unaffected by warming and was positively affected by the presence of mosses and shrubs, with these effects mostly independent of successional stage. These results highlight that different groups of soil organisms may respond dissimilarly to interactions between warming and changes to plant functional groups, with likely consequences for ecosystem functioning that may vary with successional stage. Due to the ubiquitous presence of shrubs and mosses in boreal forests, the effects observed in this study are likely to be significant over a large proportion of the terrestrial land surface. Our results demonstrate that it is crucial to consider interactive effects between warming, plant functional groups, and successional stage when predicting soil community responses to global climate change in forested ecosystems.
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| 13. |
- De Long, Jonathan, et al.
(författare)
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Understory plant functional groups and litter species identity are stronger drivers of litter decomposition than warming along a boreal forest post-fire successional gradient
- 2016
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Ingår i: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0038-0717 .- 1879-3428. ; 98, s. 159-170
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increasing surface temperatures due to climate change have the potential to alter plant litter mass loss and nutrient release during decomposition. However, a great deal of uncertainty remains concerning how ecosystem functioning may be affected by interactions between warming and other drivers, such as plant functional group composition and environmental context. In this study, we investigated how vascular plant litter decomposition and nutrient release were affected by experimental warming, moss removal and shrub removal along a post-fire boreal forest successional gradient. Our results show that litter decomposition and nutrient loss were primarily driven by understory plant functional group removal. The removal of mosses generally reduced litter mass loss and increased litter phosphorus (P) loss, while shrub removal typically increased litter mass loss and in one litter species reduced immobilization of P. Litter nitrogen (N) loss was unaffected by plant functional group removal. Warming interacted with successional stage and species identity of the litter decomposed, but these effects were uncommon and generally weak. As climate change advances, moss cover is expected to decrease, while shrub cover is expected to increase. Taken together with our results, this suggests that lower moss cover will decrease leaf litter decomposition rates and increase P release from litter, while increasing shrub cover will decrease decomposition rates and may reduce P release from litter. Our results demonstrate that in the short term, the direct effects of warming and successional stage will play a relatively minor role in driving litter decomposition processes in the boreal forest. In the long term, as the climate warms, temperature and its indirect effects via changes in the understory vegetation will play an important role in driving litter decomposition, thereby potentially altering C storage and nutrient cycling.
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| 14. |
- Doherty, Stacey Jarvis, et al.
(författare)
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The Transition From Stochastic to Deterministic Bacterial Community Assembly During Permafrost Thaw Succession
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-302X. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Northern high latitudes are warming twice as fast as the global average, and permafrost has become vulnerable to thaw. Changes to the environment during thaw leads to shifts in microbial communities and their associated functions, such as greenhouse gas emissions. Understanding the ecological processes that structure the identity and abundance (i.e., assembly) of pre- and post-thaw communities may improve predictions of the functional outcomes of permafrost thaw. We characterized microbial community assembly during permafrost thaw using in situ observations and a laboratory incubation of soils from the Storflaket Mire in Abisko, Sweden, where permafrost thaw has occurred over the past decade. In situ observations indicated that bacterial community assembly was driven by randomness (i.e., stochastic processes) immediately after thaw with drift and dispersal limitation being the dominant processes. As post-thaw succession progressed, environmentally driven (i.e., deterministic) processes became increasingly important in structuring microbial communities where homogenizing selection was the only process structuring upper active layer soils. Furthermore, laboratory-induced thaw reflected assembly dynamics immediately after thaw indicated by an increase in drift, but did not capture the long-term effects of permafrost thaw on microbial community dynamics. Our results did not reflect a link between assembly dynamics and carbon emissions, likely because respiration is the product of many processes in microbial communities. Identification of dominant microbial community assembly processes has the potential to improve our understanding of the ecological impact of permafrost thaw and the permafrost-climate feedback.
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| 15. |
- Gavazov, Konstantin, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Plant-microbial linkages underpin carbon sequestration in contrasting mountain tundra vegetation types
- 2022
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Ingår i: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. - : Elsevier. - 0038-0717 .- 1879-3428. ; 165
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tundra ecosystems hold large stocks of soil organic matter (SOM), likely due to low temperatures limiting rates of microbial SOM decomposition more than those of SOM accumulation from plant primary productivity and microbial necromass inputs. Here we test the hypotheses that distinct tundra vegetation types and their carbon supply to characteristic rhizosphere microbes determine SOM cycling independent of temperature. In the subarctic Scandes, we used a three-way factorial design with paired heath and meadow vegetation at each of two elevations, and with each combination of vegetation type and elevation subjected during one growing season to either ambient light (i.e., ambient plant productivity), or 95% shading (i.e., reduced plant productivity). We assessed potential above- and belowground ecosystem linkages by uni- and multivariate analyses of variance, and structural equation modelling. We observed direct coupling between tundra vegetation type and microbial community composition and function, which underpinned the ecosystem's potential for SOM storage. Greater primary productivity at low elevation and ambient light supported higher microbial biomass and nitrogen immobilisation, with lower microbial mass-specific enzymatic activity and SOM humification. Congruently, larger SOM at lower elevation and in heath sustained fungal-dominated microbial communities, which were less substrate-limited, and invested less into enzymatic SOM mineralisation, owing to a greater carbon-use efficiency (CUE). Our results highlight the importance of tundra plant community characteristics (i.e., productivity and vegetation type), via their effects on soil microbial community size, structure and physiology, as essential drivers of SOM turnover. The here documented concerted patterns in above- and belowground ecosystem functioning is strongly supportive of using plant community characteristics as surrogates for assessing tundra carbon storage potential and its evolution under climate and vegetation changes.
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| 16. |
- Gavazov, Konstantin, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Vascular plant-mediated controls on atmospheric carbon assimilation and peat carbon decomposition under climate change
- 2018
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 24:9, s. 3911-3921
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change can alter peatland plant community composition by promoting the growth of vascular plants. How such vegetation change affects peatland carbon dynamics remains, however, unclear. In order to assess the effect of vegetation change on carbon uptake and release, we performed a vascular plant-removal experiment in two Sphagnum-dominated peatlands that represent contrasting stages of natural vegetation succession along a climatic gradient. Periodic measurements of net ecosystem CO2 exchange revealed that vascular plants play a crucial role in assuring the potential for net carbon uptake, particularly with a warmer climate. The presence of vascular plants, however, also increased ecosystem respiration, and by using the seasonal variation of respired CO2 radiocarbon (bomb-C-14) signature we demonstrate an enhanced heterotrophic decomposition of peat carbon due to rhizosphere priming. The observed rhizosphere priming of peat carbon decomposition was matched by more advanced humification of dissolved organic matter, which remained apparent beyond the plant growing season. Our results underline the relevance of rhizosphere priming in peatlands, especially when assessing the future carbon sink function of peatlands undergoing a shift in vegetation community composition in association with climate change.
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| 17. |
- Granath, Gustaf, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental and taxonomic controls of carbon and oxygen stable isotope composition in Sphagnum across broad climatic and geographic ranges
- 2018
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Ingår i: Biogeosciences. - : Copernicus Publications. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 15:16, s. 5189-5202
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rain-fed peatlands are dominated by peat mosses (Sphagnum sp.), which for their growth depend on nutrients, water and CO2 uptake from the atmosphere. As the isotopic composition of carbon (C-12(,)13) and oxygen (O-16(,)18) of these Sphagnum mosses are affected by environmental conditions, Sphagnum tissue accumulated in peat constitutes a potential long-term archive that can be used for climate reconstruction. However, there is inadequate understanding of how isotope values are influenced by environmental conditions, which restricts their current use as environmental and palaeoenvironmental indicators. Here we tested (i) to what extent C and O isotopic variation in living tissue of Sphagnum is speciesspecific and associated with local hydrological gradients, climatic gradients (evapotranspiration, temperature, precipitation) and elevation; (ii) whether the C isotopic signature can be a proxy for net primary productivity (NPP) of Sphagnum; and (iii) to what extent Sphagnum tissue delta O-18 tracks the delta O-18 isotope signature of precipitation. In total, we analysed 337 samples from 93 sites across North America and Eurasia us ing two important peat-forming Sphagnum species (S. magellanicum, S. fuscum) common to the Holarctic realm. There were differences in delta C-13 values between species. For S. magellanicum delta C-13 decreased with increasing height above the water table (HWT, R-2 = 17 %) and was positively correlated to productivity (R-2 = 7 %). Together these two variables explained 46 % of the between-site variation in delta C-13 values. For S. fuscum, productivity was the only significant predictor of delta C-13 but had low explanatory power (total R-2 = 6 %). For delta O-18 values, approximately 90 % of the variation was found between sites. Globally modelled annual delta O-18 values in precipitation explained 69 % of the between-site variation in tissue delta O-18. S. magellanicum showed lower delta O-18 enrichment than S. fuscum (-0.83 %0 lower). Elevation and climatic variables were weak predictors of tissue delta O-18 values after controlling for delta O-18 values of the precipitation. To summarize, our study provides evidence for (a) good predictability of tissue delta O-18 values from modelled annual delta O-18 values in precipitation, and (b) the possibility of relating tissue delta C-13 values to HWT and NPP, but this appears to be species-dependent. These results suggest that isotope composition can be used on a large scale for climatic reconstructions but that such models should be species-specific.
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| 18. |
- Hamard, Samuel, et al.
(författare)
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Contribution of microbial photosynthesis to peatland carbon uptake along a latitudinal gradient
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Ecology. - : British Ecological Society. - 0022-0477 .- 1365-2745. ; 109:9, s. 3424-3441
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Phototrophic microbes, also known as micro-algae, display a high abundance in many terrestrial surface soils. They contribute to atmospheric carbon dioxide fluxes through their photosynthesis, and thus regulate climate similar to plants. However, microbial photosynthesis remains overlooked in most terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we hypothesise that phototrophic microbes significantly contribute to peatland C uptake, unless environmental conditions limit their development and their photosynthetic activity. To test our hypothesis, we studied phototrophic microbial communities in five peatlands distributed along a latitudinal gradient in Europe. By means of metabarcoding, microscopy and cytometry analyses, as well as measures of photosynthesis, we investigated the diversity, absolute abundance and photosynthetic rates of the phototrophic microbial communities. We identified 351 photosynthetic prokaryotic and eukaryotic operational taxonomic units (OTUs) across the five peatlands. We found that water availability and plant composition were important determinants of the composition and the structure of phototrophic microbial communities. Despite environmental shifts in community structure and composition, we showed that microbial C fixation rates remained similar along the latitudinal gradient. Our results further revealed that phototrophic microbes accounted for approximately 10% of peatland C uptake. Synthesis. Our findings show that phototrophic microbes are extremely diverse and abundant in peatlands. While species turnover with environmental conditions, microbial photosynthesis similarly contributed to peatland C uptake at all latitudes. We estimate that phototrophic microbes take up around 75 MT CO2 per year in northern peatlands. This amount roughly equals the magnitude of projected peatland C loss due to climate warming and highlights the importance of phototrophic microbes for the peatland C cycle.
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| 19. |
- Hicks Pries, Caitlin E., et al.
(författare)
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Decadal warming causes a consistent and persistent shift from heterotrophic to autotrophic respiration in contrasting permafrost ecosystems
- 2015
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 21:12, s. 4508-4519
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Soil carbon in permafrost ecosystems has the potential to become a major positive feedback to climate change if permafrost thaw increases heterotrophic decomposition. However, warming can also stimulate autotrophic production leading to increased ecosystem carbon storage-a negative climate change feedback. Few studies partitioning ecosystem respiration examine decadal warming effects or compare responses among ecosystems. Here, we first examined how 11 years of warming during different seasons affected autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration in a bryophyte-dominated peatland in Abisko, Sweden. We used natural abundance radiocarbon to partition ecosystem respiration into autotrophic respiration, associated with production, and heterotrophic decomposition. Summertime warming decreased the age of carbon respired by the ecosystem due to increased proportional contributions from autotrophic and young soil respiration and decreased proportional contributions from old soil. Summertime warming's large effect was due to not only warmer air temperatures during the growing season, but also to warmer deep soils year-round. Second, we compared ecosystem respiration responses between two contrasting ecosystems, the Abisko peatland and a tussock-dominated tundra in Healy, Alaska. Each ecosystem had two different timescales of warming (<5years and over a decade). Despite the Abisko peatland having greater ecosystem respiration and larger contributions from heterotrophic respiration than the Healy tundra, both systems responded consistently to short- and long-term warming with increased respiration, increased autotrophic contributions to ecosystem respiration, and increased ratios of autotrophic to heterotrophic respiration. We did not detect an increase in old soil carbon losses with warming at either site. If increased autotrophic respiration is balanced by increased primary production, as is the case in the Healy tundra, warming will not cause these ecosystems to become growing season carbon sources. Warming instead causes a persistent shift from heterotrophic to more autotrophic control of the growing season carbon cycle in these carbon-rich permafrost ecosystems.
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| 20. |
- Hollister, R. D., et al.
(författare)
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A review of open top chamber (OTC) performance across the ITEX Network
- 2023
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Ingår i: Arctic Science. - : Canadian Science Publishing. - 2368-7460. ; 9:2, s. 331-344
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Open top chambers (OTCs) were adopted as the recommended warming mechanism by the International Tundra Experiment network in the early 1990s. Since then, OTCs have been deployed across the globe. Hundreds of papers have reported the im-pacts of OTCs on the abiotic environment and the biota. Here, we review the impacts of the OTC on the physical environment, with comments on the appropriateness of using OTCs to characterize the response of biota to warming. The purpose of this review is to guide readers to previously published work and to provide recommendations for continued use of OTCs to under -stand the implications of warming on low stature ecosystems. In short, the OTC is a useful tool to experimentally manipulate temperature; however, the characteristics and magnitude of warming varies greatly in different environments; therefore, it is important to document chamber performance to maximize the interpretation of biotic response. When coupled with long-term monitoring, warming experiments are a valuable means to understand the impacts of climate change on natural ecosystems.
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| 21. |
- Hough, Moira, et al.
(författare)
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Biotic and Environmental Drivers of Plant Microbiomes Across a Permafrost Thaw Gradient
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 1664-302X. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Plant-associated microbiomes are structured by environmental conditions and plant associates, both of which are being altered by climate change. The future structure of plant microbiomes will depend on the, largely unknown, relative importance of each. This uncertainty is particularly relevant for arctic peatlands, which are undergoing large shifts in plant communities and soil microbiomes as permafrost thaws, and are potentially appreciable sources of climate change feedbacks due to their soil carbon (C) storage. We characterized phyllosphere and rhizosphere microbiomes of six plant species, and bulk peat, across a permafrost thaw progression (from intact permafrost, to partially- and fully-thawed stages) via 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We tested the hypothesis that the relative influence of biotic versus environmental filtering (the role of plant species versus thaw-defined habitat) in structuring microbial communities would differ among phyllosphere, rhizosphere, and bulk peat. Using both abundance- and phylogenetic-based approaches, we found that phyllosphere microbial composition was more strongly explained by plant associate, with little influence of habitat, whereas in the rhizosphere, plant and habitat had similar influence. Network-based community analyses showed that keystone taxa exhibited similar patterns with stronger responses to drivers. However, plant associates appeared to have a larger influence on organisms belonging to families associated with methane-cycling than the bulk community. Putative methanogens were more strongly influenced by plant than habitat in the rhizosphere, and in the phyllosphere putative methanotrophs were more strongly influenced by plant than was the community at large. We conclude that biotic effects can be stronger than environmental filtering, but their relative importance varies among microbial groups. For most microbes in this system, biotic filtering was stronger aboveground than belowground. However, for putative methane-cyclers, plant associations have a stronger influence on community composition than environment despite major hydrological changes with thaw. This suggests that plant successional dynamics may be as important as hydrological changes in determining microbial relevance to C-cycling climate feedbacks. By partitioning the degree that plant versus environmental filtering drives microbiome composition and function we can improve our ability to predict the consequences of warming for C-cycling in other arctic areas undergoing similar permafrost thaw transitions.
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| 22. |
- Hough, Moira, et al.
(författare)
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Coupling plant litter quantity to a novel metric for litter quality explains C storage changes in a thawing permafrost peatland
- 2022
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 28:3, s. 950-968
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Permafrost thaw is a major potential feedback source to climate change as it can drive the increased release of greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). This carbon release from the decomposition of thawing soil organic material can be mitigated by increased net primary productivity (NPP) caused by warming, increasing atmospheric CO2, and plant community transition. However, the net effect on C storage also depends on how these plant community changes alter plant litter quantity, quality, and decomposition rates. Predicting decomposition rates based on litter quality remains challenging, but a promising new way forward is to incorporate measures of the energetic favorability to soil microbes of plant biomass decomposition. We asked how the variation in one such measure, the nominal oxidation state of carbon (NOSC), interacts with changing quantities of plant material inputs to influence the net C balance of a thawing permafrost peatland. We found: (1) Plant productivity (NPP) increased post-thaw, but instead of contributing to increased standing biomass, it increased plant biomass turnover via increased litter inputs to soil; (2) Plant litter thermodynamic favorability (NOSC) and decomposition rate both increased post-thaw, despite limited changes in bulk C:N ratios; (3) these increases caused the higher NPP to cycle more rapidly through both plants and soil, contributing to higher CO2 and CH4 fluxes from decomposition. Thus, the increased C-storage expected from higher productivity was limited and the high global warming potential of CH4 contributed a net positive warming effect. Although post-thaw peatlands are currently C sinks due to high NPP offsetting high CO2 release, this status is very sensitive to the plant community's litter input rate and quality. Integration of novel bioavailability metrics based on litter chemistry, including NOSC, into studies of ecosystem dynamics, is needed to improve the understanding of controls on arctic C stocks under continued ecosystem transition.
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| 23. |
- Jansson, Johan, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Personal Norms for Dealing with Climate Change : Results from a Survey Using Moral Foundations Theory
- 2015
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Ingår i: Sustainable Development. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0968-0802 .- 1099-1719. ; 23:6, s. 381-395
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change has become one of the main issues in environmental and sustainability discussions during the last decade. Acting to reduce climate change can be viewed as a prosocial behavior, and previous research has found that personal norms are important in explaining these types of behavior, together with other attitudinal factors. In this study we use Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) to explore the antecedents of personal climate change norms together with three attitudinal factors: problem awareness, social norms and adherence to the New Ecological Paradigm. Analyzing data from a nationwide survey (N = 1086) conducted in Sweden, we find that the moral foundations concerning harm and fairness are positively associated with personal climate change norms, whereas authority has a negative relation. However, the moral foundations from MFT contribute less in explaining personal climate change norms compared with the attitudinal factors included in the study. Theoretical and empirical implications are discussed.
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| 24. |
- Jessen, Maria-Theresa, et al.
(författare)
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Understory functional groups and fire history but not experimental warming drive tree seedling performance in unmanaged boreal forests
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2624-893X. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Survival and growth of tree seedlings are key processes of regeneration in forest ecosystems. However, little is known about how climate warming modulates seedling performance either directly or in interaction with understory vegetation and post-fire successional stages.Methods: We measured survival (over 3 years) and growth of seedlings of three tree species (Betula pubescens, Pinus sylvestris, and Picea abies) in a full-factorial field experiment with passive warming and removal of two plant functional groups (feather moss and/or ericaceous shrubs) along a post-fire chronosequence in an unmanaged boreal forest.Results: Warming had no effect on seedling survival over time or on relative biomass growth. Meanwhile, moss removal greatly increased seedling survival overall, while shrub removal canceled this effect for B. pubescens seedlings. In addition, B. pubescens and P. sylvestris survival benefitted most from moss removal in old forests (>260 years since last fire disturbance). In contrast to survival, seedling growth was promoted by shrub removal for two out of three species, i.e., P. sylvestris and P. abies, meaning that seedling survival and growth are governed by different understory functional groups affecting seedling performance through different mechanism and modes of action.Discussion: Our findings highlight that understory vegetation and to a lesser extent post-fire successional stage are important drivers of seedling performance while the direct effect of climate warming is not. This suggests that tree regeneration in future forests may be more responsive to changes in understory vegetation or fire regime, e.g., indirectly caused by warming, than to direct or interactive effects of rising temperatures.
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| 25. |
- Keuper, Frida, et al.
(författare)
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A frozen feast : thawing permafrost increases plant-available nitrogen in subarctic peatlands
- 2012
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 18:6, s. 1998-2007
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many of the world's northern peatlands are underlain by rapidly thawing permafrost. Because plant production in these peatlands is often nitrogen (N)-limited, a release of N stored in permafrost may stimulate net primary production or change species composition if it is plant-available. In this study, we aimed to quantify plant-available N in thawing permafrost soils of subarctic peatlands. We compared plant-available N-pools and -fluxes in near-surface permafrost (010cm below the thawfront) to those taken from a current rooting zone layer (515cm depth) across five representative peatlands in subarctic Sweden. A range of complementary methods was used: extractions of inorganic and organic N, inorganic and organic N-release measurements at 0.5 and 11 degrees C (over 120days, relevant to different thaw-development scenarios) and a bioassay with Poa alpina test plants. All extraction methods, across all peatlands, consistently showed up to seven times more plant-available N in near-surface permafrost soil compared to the current rooting zone layer. These results were supported by the bioassay experiment, with an eightfold larger plant N-uptake from permafrost soil than from other N-sources such as current rooting zone soil or fresh litter substrates. Moreover, net mineralization rates were much higher in permafrost soils compared to soils from the current rooting zone layer (273mgNm-2 and 1348mgNm-2 per growing season for near-surface permafrost at 0.5 degrees C and 11 degrees C respectively, compared to -30mgNm-2 for current rooting zone soil at 11 degrees C). Hence, our results demonstrate that near-surface permafrost soil of subarctic peatlands can release a biologically relevant amount of plant available nitrogen, both directly upon thawing as well as over the course of a growing season through continued microbial mineralization of organically bound N. Given the nitrogen-limited nature of northern peatlands, this release may have impacts on both plant productivity and species composition.
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