Analysis of nitrogen saturation potential in Rocky Mountain tundra and forest: implications for aquatic systems

We employed grass and forest versions of the CENTURY model under a range of N deposition values (0.02–1.60 g N m^–2 y^–1) to explore the possibility that high observed lake and stream N was due to terrestrial N saturation of alpine tundra and subalpine forest in Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Model results suggest that N is limiting to subalpine forest productivity, but that excess leachate from alpine tundra is sufficient to account for the current observed stream N. Tundra leachate, combined with N leached from exposed rock surfaces, produce high N loads in aquatic ecosystems above treeline in the Colorado Front Range. A combination of terrestrial leaching, large N inputs from snowmelt, high watershed gradients, rapid hydrologic flushing and lake turnover times, and possibly other nutrient limitations of aquatic organisms constrain high elevation lakes and streams from assimilating even small increases in atmospheric N. CENTURY model simulations further suggest that, while increased N deposition will worsen the situation, nitrogen saturation is an ongoing phenomenon.     

Pan-Arctic soil moisture control on tundra carbon sequestration and plant productivity

Long-term atmospheric CO₂ concentration records have suggested a reduction in the positive effect of warming on high-latitude carbon uptake since the 1990s. A variety of mechanisms have been proposed to explain the reduced net carbon sink of northern ecosystems with increased air temperature, including water stress on vegetation and increased respiration over recent decades. However, the lack of consistent long-term carbon flux and in situ soil moisture data has severely limited our ability to identify the mechanisms responsible for the recent reduced carbon sink strength. In this study, we used a record of nearly 100 site-years of eddy covariance data from 11 continuous permafrost tundra sites distributed across the circumpolar Arctic to test the temperature (expressed as growing degree days, GDD) responses of gross primary production (GPP), net ecosystem exchange (NEE), and ecosystem respiration (ER) at different periods of the summer (early, peak, and late summer) including dominant tundra vegetation classes (graminoids and mosses, and shrubs). We further tested GPP, NEE, and ER relationships with soil moisture and vapor pressure deficit to identify potential moisture limitations on plant productivity and net carbon exchange. Our results show a decrease in GPP with rising GDD during the peak summer (July) for both vegetation classes, and a significant relationship between the peak summer GPP and soil moisture after statistically controlling for GDD in a partial correlation analysis. These results suggest that tundra ecosystems might not benefit from increased temperature as much as suggested by several terrestrial biosphere models, if decreased soil moisture limits the peak summer plant productivity, reducing the ability of these ecosystems to sequester carbon during the summer.     

Carbon uptake in Eurasian boreal forests dominates the high-latitude net ecosystem carbon budget

Arctic-boreal landscapes are experiencing profound warming, along with changes in ecosystem moisture status and disturbance from fire. This region is of global importance in terms of carbon feedbacks to climate, yet the sign (sink or source) and magnitude of the Arctic-boreal carbon budget within recent years remains highly uncertain. Here, we provide new estimates of recent (2003–2015) vegetation gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R_eco), net ecosystem CO₂ exchange (NEE; R_eco − GPP), and terrestrial methane (CH₄) emissions for the Arctic-boreal zone using a satellite data-driven process-model for northern ecosystems (TCFM-Arctic), calibrated and evaluated using measurements from >60 tower eddy covariance (EC) sites. We used TCFM-Arctic to obtain daily 1-km² flux estimates and annual carbon budgets for the pan-Arctic-boreal region. Across the domain, the model indicated an overall average NEE sink of −850 Tg CO₂-C year⁻¹. Eurasian boreal zones, especially those in Siberia, contributed to a majority of the net sink. In contrast, the tundra biome was relatively carbon neutral (ranging from small sink to source). Regional CH₄ emissions from tundra and boreal wetlands (not accounting for aquatic CH₄) were estimated at 35 Tg CH₄-C year⁻¹. Accounting for additional emissions from open water aquatic bodies and from fire, using available estimates from the literature, reduced the total regional NEE sink by 21% and shifted many far northern tundra landscapes, and some boreal forests, to a net carbon source. This assessment, based on in situ observations and models, improves our understanding of the high-latitude carbon status and also indicates a continued need for integrated site-to-regional assessments to monitor the vulnerability of these ecosystems to climate change.     

Recolonization following past persecution questions the importance of persistent snow cover as a range limiting factor for wolverines

Globally, climate is changing rapidly, which causes shifts in many species' distributions, stressing the need to understand their response to changing environmental conditions to inform conservation and management. Northern latitudes are expected to experience strongest changes in climate, with milder winters and decreasing snow cover. The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is a circumpolar, threatened carnivore distributed in northern tundra, boreal, and subboreal habitats. Previous studies have suggested that wolverine distribution and reproduction are constrained by a strong association with persistent spring snow cover. We assess this hypothesis by relating spatial distribution of 1589 reproductive events, a fitness-related proxy for female reproduction and survival, to snow cover over two decades. Wolverine distribution has increased and number of reproductive events increased 20 times in areas lacking spring snow cover during our study period, despite low monitoring effort where snow is sparse. Thus, the relationship between reproductive events and persistent spring snow cover weakened during this period. These findings show that wolverine reproductive success and hence distribution are less dependent on spring snow cover than expected. This has important implications for projections of future habitat availability, and thus distribution, of this threatened species. Our study also illustrates how past persecution, or other factors, that have restricted species distribution to remote areas can mask actual effects of environmental parameters, whose importance reveals when populations expand beyond previously restricted ranges. Overwhelming evidence shows that climate change is affecting many species and ecological processes, but forecasting potential consequences on a given species requires longitudinal data to revisit hypotheses and reassess the direction and magnitude of climate effects with new data. This is especially important for conservation-oriented management of species inhabiting dynamic systems where environmental factors and human activities interact, a common scenario for many species in different ecosystems around the globe.     

Nitrogen fertilizer enhances vegetation establishment of a high-altitude machine-graded ski slope

Machine grading is frequently required to prepare the terrain when building high-altitude ski slopes in the Alps. However, this kind of disturbance alters the natural environment, destroying the vegetation and hampering its reestablishment. Thus, specific restoration plans are necessary to encourage the recovery of vegetation, which is already affected by different natural constraints in this harsh environment. One of the main critical factors affecting plant growth in high-altitude areas is the lack of available nitrogen (N) in the soil. In this context, the addition of a slow-release N fertilizer was carried out in an experimental revegetated ski slope between 2,800 and 2,900 m above sea level in the western Italian Alps. Both vegetation and soil were monitored during a 5-year period in order to test the effectiveness of N addition on the restoration process. Even if effects on soil carbon and N contents were negligible, vegetation was remarkably affected by the fertilization, since the total vegetation cover and the species richness significantly increased. Against the expectations, there was a remarkable increase in spontaneous forbs, rather than in most of the sown graminoids, which slightly varied during the experimental period. Actually, graminoids responded in different ways, mostly increasing (likewise forbs), but the slight decrease of the dominant Festuca nigrescens (Chewing's Fescue) masked their spread. This study confirms the noteworthy role of N in high-altitude alpine soils and consequently its importance to improve the restoration process of degraded ecosystems.     

Epilithic diatom community response to years of P04 fertilization: Kuparuk River,Alaska (68 N Lat.)

An arctic river was fertilized continuously through the ice-free season with phosphoric acid beginning in 1983. The epilithic diatom community increased in biomass in the first two years in response to the added limiting nutrient (Peterson et al., 1983). The diatom community switched from one dominated by Hannea arcus to one dominated by species of Achnanthes and Cymbella. The immediate responses to the P-addition were decreases in both the Shannon diversity and evenness indices. By the second year, the community diversity increased downriver reaching maximal species richness (110–127 spp). In 1985–1987, the epilithic algal biomass decreased an order of magnitude with both whole-river PO₄ (1985, 1987) and PO₄ + NH₄ addition (1986). In the 5th summer of fertilization, the reduction in biomass was clearly caused by a numerical increase of grazing, refugia-building chironomids (Orthocladiinae, primarily) (Gibeau, 1991; Gibeau, Miller, Hershey, in prep.). We assume the algal biomass reduction in the 3rd and 4th years was similarly caused by grazers with a two year time lag in the numerical response of these monovoltine species. The evenness of the community increased in 1986 as if it might have been grazed; however the number of immigrants was reduced. The community became dominated by Eunotia, Cymbella and Achnanthes, species either fast growing or more prostrate, as the erect species of Hannea Diatoma, and Fragillaria declined. A detrended correspondence analysis of the temporal and spatial diatom samples in species space (186 spp.) showed that the largest variation in the community was between years and less variation was associated with river fertilization. Samples from bioassay tubes run by Peterson et al. (1983) in the Kuparuk River showed P and N + P limitation as found in the river in 1983–84. Like the river samples, the largest change in the diatom community occurred between 15 and 25 day samples, more than that induced by fertilization. Diatoms sampled from all treatments taken at day 25 were more similar to one another than those sampled at day 15. Diatoms colonizing glass slides used in the bioassay tubes were dominated by Achnanthes linearis and Cymbella minuta. Of the 84 species found in bioassays, 26 species were present in all river samples for 4 years. Differences in the communities discriminated by multivariate methods were cause by changes in rare species and abundance patterns of common species.     

The influence of light and nutrient addition upon the sediment chemistry of iron in an arctic lake

The geochemical response of sediments to increased nutrient input to an Alaskan, arctic lake was examined using direct measurements of sediment-water chemical fluxes. An unexpected increase in Fe flux occurred when sediments were exposed to high incident radiation and nutrient concentrations. Correlation between light and acid-soluble Fe concentrations suggests that photoreduction of Fe(III) oxides may occur, but nutrient addition enhanced the effect indicating that primary productivity was also important. The processes controlling the flux of Fe from sediments in this lake were complex and included the redox potential (dissolved oxygen concentration) of the water, quality of organic matter present in the sediment, light, and nutrients supplied from the sediments and/or water column. These four factors together with the possibility of direct uptake of Fe by phytoplankton and the possible release of algal reductants may contribute to Fe cycling in this lake.     

Interactions between rate processes with different timescales explain counterintuitive foraging patterns of arctic wintering eiders

To maximize fitness, animals must respond to a variety of processes that operate at different rates or timescales. Appropriate decisions could therefore involve complex interactions among these processes. For example, eiders wintering in the arctic sea ice must consider locomotion and physiology of diving for benthic invertebrates, digestive processing rate and a nonlinear decrease in profitability of diving as currents increase over the tidal cycle. Using a multi-scale dynamic modelling approach and continuous field observations of individuals, we demonstrate that the strategy that maximizes long-term energy gain involves resting during the most profitable foraging period (slack currents). These counterintuitive foraging patterns are an adaptive trade-off between multiple overlapping rate processes and cannot be explained by classical rate-maximizing optimization theory, which only considers a single timescale and predicts a constant rate of foraging. By reducing foraging and instead digesting during slack currents, eiders structure their activity in order to maximize long-term energetic gain over an entire tide cycle. This study reveals how counterintuitive patterns and a complex functional response can result from a simple trade-off among several overlapping rate processes, emphasizing the necessity of a multi-scale approach for understanding adaptive routines in the wild and evaluating mechanisms in ecological time series.     

Plant carbon allocation drives turnover of old soil organic matter in permafrost tundra soils

Carbon cycle feedbacks from permafrost ecosystems are expected to accelerate global climate change. Shifts in vegetation productivity and composition in permafrost regions could influence soil organic carbon (SOC) turnover rates via rhizosphere (root zone) priming effects (RPEs), but these processes are not currently accounted for in model predictions. We use a radiocarbon (bomb‐¹⁴C) approach to test for RPEs in two Arctic tall shrubs, alder (Alnus viridis (Chaix) DC.) and birch (Betula glandulosa Michx.), and in ericaceous heath tundra vegetation. We compare surface CO₂ efflux rates and ¹⁴C content between intact vegetation and plots in which below‐ground allocation of recent photosynthate was prevented by trenching and removal of above‐ground biomass. We show, for the first time, that recent photosynthate drives mineralization of older (>50 years old) SOC under birch shrubs and ericaceous heath tundra. By contrast, we find no evidence of RPEs in soils under alder. This is the first direct evidence from permafrost systems that vegetation influences SOC turnover through below‐ground C allocation. The vulnerability of SOC to decomposition in permafrost systems may therefore be directly linked to vegetation change, such that expansion of birch shrubs across the Arctic could increase decomposition of older SOC. Our results suggest that carbon cycle models that do not include RPEs risk underestimating the carbon cycle feedbacks associated with changing conditions in tundra regions.