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Tundra landscape heterogeneity, not interannual variability, controls the decadal regional carbon balance in the Western Russian Arctic

Journal Article · · Global Change Biology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14421· OSTI ID:1469229
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [1];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [10];  [11];  [12];  [1];  [1]
  1. Biogeochemistry Research Group, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Eastern Finland Kuopio Finland
  2. Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation Natural Resources Canada Ottawa Ontario
  3. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland Washington, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana
  4. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana
  5. Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
  6. Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland, Department of Geography Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim Norway
  7. Department of Physical Geography, Bolin Centre of Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
  8. Institute of Biology of Komi SC RAS Syktyvkar Russia
  9. Department of Earth and Ecosystem Science, Geobiosphere Centre, Geocentrum II Lund University Lund Sweden
  10. Department for Arctic and Climate Danish Meteorological Institute Copenhagen Ø Denmark
  11. Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks Alaska, Earth Cryosphere Institute, Tyumen Science Centre SB RAS Tyumen Russia
  12. Department of Geocryological Mapping GIS Moscow Russia
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Abstract

Across the Arctic, the net ecosystem carbon (C) balance of tundra ecosystems is highly uncertain due to substantial temporal variability of C fluxes and to landscape heterogeneity. We modeled both carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) fluxes for the dominant land cover types in a ~100‐km 2 sub‐Arctic tundra region in northeast European Russia for the period of 2006–2015 using process‐based biogeochemical models. Modeled net annual CO 2 fluxes ranged from −300 g C m −2  year −1 [net uptake] in a willow fen to 3 g C m −2  year −1 [net source] in dry lichen tundra. Modeled annual CH 4 emissions ranged from −0.2 to 22.3 g C m −2  year −1 at a peat plateau site and a willow fen site, respectively. Interannual variability over the decade was relatively small (20%–25%) in comparison with variability among the land cover types (150%). Using high‐resolution land cover classification, the region was a net sink of atmospheric CO 2 across most land cover types but a net source of CH 4 to the atmosphere due to high emissions from permafrost‐free fens. Using a lower resolution for land cover classification resulted in a 20%–65% underestimation of regional CH 4 flux relative to high‐resolution classification and smaller (10%) overestimation of regional CO 2 uptake due to the underestimation of wetland area by 60%. The relative fraction of uplands versus wetlands was key to determining the net regional C balance at this and other Arctic tundra sites because wetlands were hot spots for C cycling in Arctic tundra ecosystems.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
FG02-08ER64599
OSTI ID:
1469229
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1633537
Journal Information:
Global Change Biology, Journal Name: Global Change Biology Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 24; ISSN 1354-1013
Publisher:
Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English

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