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The response of boreal peatland community composition and NDVI to hydrologic change, warming, and elevated carbon dioxide

Journal Article · · Global Change Biology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14465· OSTI ID:1479512
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [4];  [6]
  1. Department of Geography, Environment and Society University of Minnesota Minneapolis Minnesota, Department of Forest Resources University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota
  2. School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences Michigan Technological University Houghton Michigan, Northern Research Station USDA Forest Service Houghton Michigan
  3. Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado
  4. Northern Research Station USDA Forest Service Grand Rapids Minnesota
  5. Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph Ontario Canada
  6. Department of Forest Resources University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota
Abstract

Widespread changes in arctic and boreal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ( NDVI ) values captured by satellite platforms indicate that northern ecosystems are experiencing rapid ecological change in response to climate warming. Increasing temperatures and altered hydrology are driving shifts in ecosystem biophysical properties that, observed by satellites, manifest as long‐term changes in regional NDVI . In an effort to examine the underlying ecological drivers of these changes, we used field‐scale remote sensing of NDVI to track peatland vegetation in experiments that manipulated hydrology, temperature, and carbon dioxide ( CO 2 ) levels. In addition to NDVI , we measured percent cover by species and leaf area index ( LAI ). We monitored two peatland types broadly representative of the boreal region. One site was a rich fen located near Fairbanks, Alaska, at the Alaska Peatland Experiment ( APEX ), and the second site was a nutrient‐poor bog located in Northern Minnesota within the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments ( SPRUCE ) experiment. We found that NDVI decreased with long‐term reductions in soil moisture at the APEX site, coincident with a decrease in photosynthetic leaf area and the relative abundance of sedges. We observed increasing NDVI with elevated temperature at the SPRUCE site, associated with an increase in the relative abundance of shrubs and a decrease in forb cover. Warming treatments at the SPRUCE site also led to increases in the LAI of the shrub layer. We found no strong effects of elevated CO 2 on community composition. Our findings support recent studies suggesting that changes in NDVI observed from satellite platforms may be the result of changes in community composition and ecosystem structure in response to climate warming.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
1479512
Journal Information:
Global Change Biology, Journal Name: Global Change Biology Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 25; ISSN 1354-1013
Publisher:
Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English

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