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- Callaghan, Terry, et al.
(author)
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Multi-Decadal Changes in Tundra Environments and Ecosystems : Synthesis of the International Polar Year-Back to the Future Project (IPY-BTF)
- 2011
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In: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 40:6, s. 705-716
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understanding the responses of tundra systemsto global change has global implications. Most tundraregions lack sustained environmental monitoring and oneof the only ways to document multi-decadal change is toresample historic research sites. The International PolarYear (IPY) provided a unique opportunity for such researchthrough the Back to the Future (BTF) project (IPY project#512). This article synthesizes the results from 13 paperswithin this Ambio Special Issue. Abiotic changes includeglacial recession in the Altai Mountains, Russia; increasedsnow depth and hardness, permafrost warming, andincreased growing season length in sub-arctic Sweden;drying of ponds in Greenland; increased nutrient availabilityin Alaskan tundra ponds, and warming at mostlocations studied. Biotic changes ranged from relativelyminor plant community change at two sites in Greenland tomoderate change in the Yukon, and to dramatic increasesin shrub and tree density on Herschel Island, and in subarcticSweden. The population of geese tripled at one sitein northeast Greenland where biomass in non-grazed plotsdoubled. A model parameterized using results from a BTFstudy forecasts substantial declines in all snowbeds andincreases in shrub tundra on Niwot Ridge, Colorado overthe next century. In general, results support and provideimproved capacities for validating experimental manipulation,remote sensing, and modeling studies.
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2. |
- Giesler, Reiner, et al.
(author)
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Catchment-scale dissolved carbon concentrations and exportestimates across six subarctic streams in northern Sweden
- 2014
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In: Biogeosciences. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 11:2, s. 525-537
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Climatic change is currently enhancing permafrost thawing and the flow of water through the landscape in subarctic and arctic catchments, with major consequences for the carbon export to aquatic ecosystems. We studied stream water carbon export in several tundra-dominated catchments in northern Sweden. There were clear seasonal differences in both dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations. The highest DOC concentrations occurred during the spring freshet while the highest DIC concentrations were always observed during winter baseflow conditions for the six catchments considered in this study. Long-term trends for the period 1982 to 2010 for one of the streams showed that DIC concentrations has increased by 9% during the 28 yr of measurement while no clear trend was found for DOC. Similar increasing trends were also found for conductivity, Ca and Mg. When trends were discretized into individual months, we found a significant linear increase in DIC concentrations with time for September, November and December. In these subarctic catchments, the annual mass of C exported as DIC was in the same order of magnitude as DOC; the average proportion of DIC to the total dissolved C exported was 61% for the six streams. Furthermore, there was a direct relationship between total runoff and annual dissolved carbon fluxes for these six catchments. These relationships were more prevalent for annual DIC exports than annual DOC exports in this region. Our results also highlight that both DOC and DIC can be important in high-latitude ecosystems. This is particularly relevant in environments where thawing permafrost and changes to subsurface ice due to global warming can influence stream water fluxes of C. The large proportion of stream water DIC flux also has implications on regional C budgets and needs to be considered in order to understand climate-induced feedback mechanisms across the landscape.
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3. |
- Jantze, Elin J., 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Spatial Variability of Dissolved Organic and Inorganic Carbon in Subarctic Headwater Streams
- 2015
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In: Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine research. - 1523-0430 .- 1938-4246. ; 47:3, s. 529-546
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The subarctic landscape is composed of a complex mosaic of vegetation, geology and topography, which control both the hydrology and biogeochemistry of streams across space and time. We present a synoptic sampling campaign that aimed to estimate dissolved C export variability under low-flow conditions from a subarctic landscape. The results included measurements of stream discharge and concentrations of both dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and carbon dioxide (CO2) for 32 subcatchments of the Abiskojokka catchment in northern Sweden. For these subarctic headwater streams, we found that DOC, DIC and CO2 concentrations showed significant variability (p < 0.05) relative to catchment size, discharge, specific discharge, lithology, electrical conductivity, weathering products, and the estimated travel time of water through the subcatchment. Our results indicate that neither vegetation cover nor lithology alone could explain the concentrations and mass flux rates of DOC and DIC. Instead, we found that mass flux rates of DOC, DIC, and CO2 depended mainly on specific discharge and water travel time. Furthermore, our results demonstrate the importance of studying lateral carbon transport in combination with hydrological flow paths at small scales to establish a knowledge foundation applicable for expected carbon cycle and hydroclimatic shifts due to climate change.
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5. |
- Jantze, Elin, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Plant and Vegetation Dynamics on Disko Island, West Greenland : Snapshots Separated by Over 40 Years
- 2011
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In: Ambio. - Stockholm : Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 40:6, s. 624-637
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on a revisit in 2009 to sites where vegetation was recorded in 1967 and 1970 on Disko Island, West Greenland. Re-sampling of the same clones of the grass Phleum alpinum after 39 years showed complete stability in biometrics but dramatic earlier onset of various phenological stages that were not related to changes in population density. In a fell-field community, there was a net species loss, but in a herb-slope community, species losses balanced those that were gained. The type of species establishing and increasing in frequency and/or cover abundance at the fell-field site, particularly prostrate dwarf shrubs, indicates a possible start of a shift towards a heath, rather than a fell-field community. At the herb-slope site, those species that established or increased markedly in frequency and/or cover abundance indicate a change to drier conditions. This is confirmed both by the decrease in abundance of Alchemilla glomerulans and Epilobium hornemanii, and the drying of a nearby pond. The causes of these changes are unknown, although mean annual temperature has risen since 1984.
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6. |
- Jantze, Elin, 1983-
(author)
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Waterborne Carbon in Northern Streams : Controls on dissolved carbon transport across sub-arctic Scandinavia
- 2015
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Waterborne carbon (C) forms an active and significant part of the global C cycle, which is important in theArctic where greater temperature increases and variability are anticipated relative to the rest of the globe withpotential implications for the C cycle. Understanding and quantification of the current processes governing themovement of C by connecting terrestrial and marine systems is necessary to better estimate future changes ofwaterborne C. This thesis investigates how the sub-arctic landscape influences the waterborne carbon exportby combining data-driven and modeling methods across spatial and temporal scales. First, a study of the stateof total organic carbon monitoring in northern Scandinavia was carried out using national-scale monitoringdata and detailed data from scientific literature. This study, which highlights the consistency in land cover andhydroclimatic controls on waterborne C across northern Scandinavia, was combined with three more detailedstudies leveraging field measurements and modeling. These focused on the Abisko region to provide insightto processes and mechanisms across scales. The thesis highlights that the governing transport mechanismsof dissolved organic and inorganic carbon (DOC and DIC respectively) are fundamentally different due todifferences in release rates associated with the nature of their terrestrial sources (geogenic and organic matterrespectively). As such, the DIC mass flux exhibits a high flow-dependence whereas DOC is relatively flowindependent.Furthermore, these investigations identified significant relationships between waterborne C andbiogeophysical as well as hydroclimatic variables across large to small spatial scales. This thesis demonstratesthat both surface and sub-surface hydrological processes (such as flow pathway distributions) in combinationwith distributions of C sources and associated release rates are prerequisite for understanding waterborne Cdynamics in northern streams.
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