skip to main content
DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Alder Distribution and Expansion Across a Tundra Hillslope: Implications for Local N Cycling

Abstract

Increases in the availability of nitrogen (N) may have consequences for plant growth and nutrient cycling in N-limited tundra plant communities. We investigated the impact alder (Alnus viridis spp. fruticosa), an N-fixing deciduous shrub, has on tundra N cycling at a hillslope located on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula. We quantified N fixation using 15N2 incubations within two distinct alder communities at this site: alder shrublands located on well-drained, rocky outcroppings in the uplands and alder savannas located in water tracks along the moist toeslope of the hill. Annual N fixation rates in alder shrublands were 1.95 ± 0.68 g N m-2 year-1, leading to elevated N levels in adjacent soils and plants. Alder savannas had lower N fixation rates (0.53 ± 0.19 g N m-2 year-1), perhaps due to low phosphorus availability and poor drainage in these highly organic soil profiles underlain by permafrost. In addition to supporting higher rates of N fixation, tall-statured alder shrublands had different foliar traits than relatively short-statured alder in savannas, providing an opportunity to link N fixation to remotely-sensed variables. We were able to generate a map of the alder shrubland distribution at this site using a multi-sensor fusion approach. The change in alder shrublandmore » distribution through time was also determined from historic aerial and satellite imagery. Analysis of historic imagery showed that the area of alder shrublands at this site has increased by 40% from 1956 to 2014. We estimate this increase in alder shrublands was associated with a 22% increase in N fixation. Our results suggest that expansion of alder shrublands has the potential to substantially alter N cycling, increase plant productivity, and redistribute C storage in upland tundra regions. An improved understanding of the consequences of N fixation within N-limited tundra plant communities will therefore be crucial for predicting the biogeochemistry of these warming ecosystems.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
OSTI Identifier:
1570526
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1607198
Grant/Contract Number:  
NGEE-Arctic; AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Published Article
Journal Name:
Frontiers in Plant Science
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Frontiers in Plant Science Journal Volume: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 1664-462X
Publisher:
Frontiers Research Foundation
Country of Publication:
Switzerland
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; Alnus (alder); arctic; nitrogen cycling; nitrogen fixation; shrub encroachment; tundra; tundra greening; nutrient limitation

Citation Formats

Salmon, Verity G., Breen, Amy L., Kumar, Jitendra, Lara, Mark J., Thornton, Peter E., Wullschleger, Stan D., and Iversen, Colleen M. Alder Distribution and Expansion Across a Tundra Hillslope: Implications for Local N Cycling. Switzerland: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.3389/fpls.2019.01099.
Copy to clipboard
Salmon, Verity G., Breen, Amy L., Kumar, Jitendra, Lara, Mark J., Thornton, Peter E., Wullschleger, Stan D., & Iversen, Colleen M. Alder Distribution and Expansion Across a Tundra Hillslope: Implications for Local N Cycling. Switzerland. doi:10.3389/fpls.2019.01099.
Copy to clipboard
Salmon, Verity G., Breen, Amy L., Kumar, Jitendra, Lara, Mark J., Thornton, Peter E., Wullschleger, Stan D., and Iversen, Colleen M. Wed . "Alder Distribution and Expansion Across a Tundra Hillslope: Implications for Local N Cycling". Switzerland. doi:10.3389/fpls.2019.01099.
Copy to clipboard
@article{osti_1570526,
title = {Alder Distribution and Expansion Across a Tundra Hillslope: Implications for Local N Cycling},
author = {Salmon, Verity G. and Breen, Amy L. and Kumar, Jitendra and Lara, Mark J. and Thornton, Peter E. and Wullschleger, Stan D. and Iversen, Colleen M.},
abstractNote = {Increases in the availability of nitrogen (N) may have consequences for plant growth and nutrient cycling in N-limited tundra plant communities. We investigated the impact alder (Alnus viridis spp. fruticosa), an N-fixing deciduous shrub, has on tundra N cycling at a hillslope located on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula. We quantified N fixation using 15N2 incubations within two distinct alder communities at this site: alder shrublands located on well-drained, rocky outcroppings in the uplands and alder savannas located in water tracks along the moist toeslope of the hill. Annual N fixation rates in alder shrublands were 1.95 ± 0.68 g N m-2 year-1, leading to elevated N levels in adjacent soils and plants. Alder savannas had lower N fixation rates (0.53 ± 0.19 g N m-2 year-1), perhaps due to low phosphorus availability and poor drainage in these highly organic soil profiles underlain by permafrost. In addition to supporting higher rates of N fixation, tall-statured alder shrublands had different foliar traits than relatively short-statured alder in savannas, providing an opportunity to link N fixation to remotely-sensed variables. We were able to generate a map of the alder shrubland distribution at this site using a multi-sensor fusion approach. The change in alder shrubland distribution through time was also determined from historic aerial and satellite imagery. Analysis of historic imagery showed that the area of alder shrublands at this site has increased by 40% from 1956 to 2014. We estimate this increase in alder shrublands was associated with a 22% increase in N fixation. Our results suggest that expansion of alder shrublands has the potential to substantially alter N cycling, increase plant productivity, and redistribute C storage in upland tundra regions. An improved understanding of the consequences of N fixation within N-limited tundra plant communities will therefore be crucial for predicting the biogeochemistry of these warming ecosystems.},
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2019.01099},
journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science},
number = ,
volume = 10,
place = {Switzerland},
year = {2019},
month = {10}
}
Copy to clipboard
Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01099
Copyright Statement
Other availability
Search WorldCat Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 1 work
Citation information provided by
Web of Science
Save / Share:
Export Metadata
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.

Works referenced in this record:

The evidence for shrub expansion in Northern Alaska and the Pan-Arctic
journal, April 2006

Individualistic Growth Response of Tundra Plant Species to Environmental Manipulations in the Field
journal, April 1985

  • Chapin, F. Stuart; Shaver, Gaius R.
  • Ecology, Vol. 66, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.2307/1940405

Weaker land–climate feedbacks from nutrient uptake during photosynthesis-inactive periods
journal, October 2018

Soil Development in Relation to Vegetation and Surface Age at Glacier Bay, Alaska
journal, July 1955

  • Crocker, Robert L.; Major, Jack
  • The Journal of Ecology, Vol. 43, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.2307/2257005

Competition causes regular spacing of alder in Alaskan shrub tundra
journal, May 1989

  • Chapin, F. S.; McGraw, J. B.; Shaver, G. R.
  • Oecologia, Vol. 79, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1007/BF00384322

Reduced arctic tundra productivity linked with landform and climate change interactions
journal, February 2018

Nitrogen turnover and availability during succession from alder to poplar in Alaskan taiga forests
journal, June 1995

Host species and habitat affect nodulation by specific Frankia genotypes in two species of Alnus in interior Alaska
journal, April 2009

Greening of arctic Alaska, 1981-2001: GREENING OF ARCTIC ALASKA, 1981-2001
journal, October 2003

  • Jia, Gensuo J.; Epstein, Howard E.; Walker, Donald A.
  • Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 30, Issue 20
  • DOI: 10.1029/2003GL018268

Depleted 15N in hydrolysable-N of arctic soils and its implication for mycorrhizal fungi–plant interaction
journal, September 2009

Climate sensitivity of thinleaf alder growth on an interior Alaskan floodplain
journal, September 2010

  • Nossov, Dana R.; Ruess, Roger W.; Hollingsworth, Teresa N.
  • Écoscience, Vol. 17, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.2980/17-3-3326

Biogeochemistry of Adjacent Conifer and Alder-Conifer Stands
journal, December 1992

  • Binkley, Dan; Sollins, Phillip; Bell, Randy
  • Ecology, Vol. 73, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.2307/1941452

Shrub expansion in tundra ecosystems: dynamics, impacts and research priorities
journal, October 2011

  • Myers-Smith, Isla H.; Forbes, Bruce C.; Wilmking, Martin
  • Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 6, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/6/4/045509

Ecosystem carbon storage in arctic tundra reduced by long-term nutrient fertilization
journal, September 2004

  • Mack, Michelle C.; Schuur, Edward A. G.; Bret-Harte, M. Syndonia
  • Nature, Vol. 431, Issue 7007
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature02887

Disease-Mediated Declines in N-Fixation Inputs by Alnus tenuifolia to Early-Successional Floodplains in Interior and South-Central Alaska
journal, February 2009

The Vegetation N:P Ratio: a New Tool to Detect the Nature of Nutrient Limitation
journal, December 1996

  • Koerselman, Willem; Meuleman, Arthur F. M.
  • The Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. 33, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.2307/2404783

Soil biogeochemistry during the early spring in low arctic mesic tundra and the impacts of deepened snow and enhanced nitrogen availability
journal, December 2009

Satellite-observed photosynthetic trends across boreal North America associated with climate and fire disturbance
journal, September 2005

  • Goetz, S. J.; Bunn, A. G.; Fiske, G. J.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 102, Issue 38
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0506179102

Species Composition Interacts with Fertilizer to Control Long-Term Change in Tundra Productivity
journal, November 2001

Natural Abundance of Nitrogen-15 as a Tool for Tracing Alder-Fixed Nitrogen1
journal, January 1985

Changes in vegetation in northern Alaska under scenarios of climate change, 2003–2100: implications for climate feedbacks
journal, June 2009

  • Euskirchen, E. S.; McGuire, A. D.; Chapin, F. S.
  • Ecological Applications, Vol. 19, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1890/08-0806.1

Production: Biomass Relationships and Element Cycling in Contrasting Arctic Vegetation Types
journal, February 1991

  • Shaver, Gaius R.; Chapin, F. Stuart
  • Ecological Monographs, Vol. 61, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.2307/1942997

Contribution of winter processes to soil nitrogen flux in taiga forest ecosystems
journal, September 2006

Glacier Regimes, Periglacial Landforms, and Holocene Climate Change in the Kigluaik Mountains, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, U.S.A.
journal, May 1998

  • Calkin, Parker E.; Kaufman, Darrell S.; Przybyl, Bruce J.
  • Arctic and Alpine Research, Vol. 30, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.2307/1552130

Below-ground plant traits influence tundra plant acquisition of newly thawed permafrost nitrogen
journal, September 2018

  • Hewitt, Rebecca E.; Taylor, D. Lee; Genet, Hélène
  • Journal of Ecology, Vol. 107, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13062

Increasing shrub abundance in the Arctic
journal, May 2001

  • Sturm, Matthew; Racine, Charles; Tape, Kenneth
  • Nature, Vol. 411, Issue 6837
  • DOI: 10.1038/35079180

Arctic Vegetation Mapping Using Unsupervised Training Datasets and Convolutional Neural Networks
journal, January 2019

  • Langford, Zachary L.; Kumar, Jitendra; Hoffman, Forrest M.
  • Remote Sensing, Vol. 11, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.3390/rs11010069

Shrub Expansion of Alnus viridis Drives Former Montane Grassland into Nitrogen Saturation
journal, April 2016

N 2 fixation in a young Alnus incana stand, based on seasonal and diurnal variation in whole plant nitrogenase activity
journal, August 1992

  • Huss-Danell, Kerstin; Lundquist, Per-Olof; Ohlsson, Helene
  • Canadian Journal of Botany, Vol. 70, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1139/b92-193

Regional and landscape-scale variability of Landsat-observed vegetation dynamics in northwest Siberian tundra
journal, January 2014

Corrigendum - N2-Fixation in Field Settings: Estimations Based on Natural 15N Abundance
journal, January 1986

  • Shearer, G.; Kohl, Dh
  • Functional Plant Biology, Vol. 13, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1071/PP9860699c

N : P ratios in terrestrial plants: variation and functional significance: Tansley review
journal, September 2004

Patterned-ground facilitates shrub expansion in Low Arctic tundra
journal, March 2013

Patterns and dynamics of treeline advance on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
journal, November 2002

  • Lloyd, Andrea H.; Rupp, T. Scott; Fastie, Christopher L.
  • Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 108, Issue D2
  • DOI: 10.1029/2001JD000852

Facultative versus Obligate Nitrogen Fixation Strategies and Their Ecosystem Consequences
journal, October 2009

  • Menge, Duncan N. L.; Levin, Simon A.; Hedin, Lars O.
  • The American Naturalist, Vol. 174, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1086/605377

Circumpolar Arctic Tundra Vegetation Change Is Linked to Sea Ice Decline
journal, August 2010

  • Bhatt, Uma S.; Walker, Donald A.; Raynolds, Martha K.
  • Earth Interactions, Vol. 14, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1175/2010EI315.1

Biomass allometry for alder, dwarf birch, and willow in boreal forest and tundra ecosystems of far northeastern Siberia and north-central Alaska
journal, February 2015

Dynamics of aboveground phytomass of the circumpolar Arctic tundra during the past three decades
journal, January 2012

  • Epstein, Howard E.; Raynolds, Martha K.; Walker, Donald A.
  • Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 7, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/015506

Effects of plant species on nutrient cycling
journal, October 1992

Cross-platform learning: children's learning from multiple media
conference, January 2011

  • Fisch, Shalom M.; Lesh, Richard; Motoki, Beth
  • Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children - IDC '11
  • DOI: 10.1145/1999030.1999036

Ecosystem-level consequences of symbiont partnerships in an N-fixing shrub from interior Alaskan floodplains
journal, May 2013

  • Ruess, Roger W.; Anderson, Michael D.; McFarland, Jack M.
  • Ecological Monographs, Vol. 83, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1890/12-0782.1

Accumulation of Nitrogen in Alder (Alnus) Ecosystems near Fairbanks, Alaska
journal, April 1971

  • Cleve, Keith Van; Viereck, Leslie A.; Schlentner, Robert L.
  • Arctic and Alpine Research, Vol. 3, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.2307/1549980

A Transient, Nutrient-Based Model of Arctic Plant Community Response to Climatic Warming
journal, June 2000

Within-Stand Nutrient Cycling in Arctic and Boreal Wetlands
journal, October 1999

Landscape Heterogeneity of Shrub Expansion in Arctic Alaska
journal, April 2012

Land Cover Change on the Seward Peninsula: The Use of Remote Sensing to Evaluate the Potential Influences of Climate Warming on Historical Vegetation Dynamics
journal, October 2001

Alder ( Alnus crispa ) effects on soils in ecosystems of the Agashashok River valley, northwest Alaska
journal, January 2001

Estimating N 2 fixation in two species of Alnus in interior Alaska using acetylene reduction and 15 N 2 uptake
journal, January 2004

Effects of arctic shrub expansion on biophysical vs. biogeochemical drivers of litter decomposition
journal, July 2014

  • DeMarco, Jennie; Mack, Michelle C.; Bret-Harte, M. Syndonia
  • Ecology, Vol. 95, Issue 7
  • DOI: 10.1890/13-2221.1

Plant functional types in Earth system models: past experiences and future directions for application of dynamic vegetation models in high-latitude ecosystems
journal, May 2014

  • Wullschleger, Stan D.; Epstein, Howard E.; Box, Elgene O.
  • Annals of Botany, Vol. 114, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcu077

Alnus viridis expansion contributes to excess reactive nitrogen release, reduces biodiversity and constrains forest succession in the Alps
journal, August 2014

Remote sensing of vegetation and land-cover change in Arctic Tundra Ecosystems
journal, February 2004

  • Stow, Douglas A.; Hope, Allen; McGuire, David
  • Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 89, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2003.10.018
    [ × clear filter / sort ]

    Similar Records in DOE PAGES and OSTI.GOV collections: