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The extensive boreal biome is little studies relative to its global importance. Its high soil moisture and low temperatures result in large below-ground reservoirs of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Presently, such high-latitude ecosystems are undergoing the largest temperature increases in global warming. Change in soil temperature or moisture in the large pools of soil organic matter could fundamentally change ecosystem C and N budgets. Since 1990, we have conducted treeline studies in a small (800 ha) watershed in Noatak National Preserve, northwestern Alaska. Our objectives were to (1) gain an understanding of treeline dynamics, structure, and function; and (2) examine the effects of global climate change, particularly...
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Nitrogen enters terrestrial ecosystems through multiple pathways during primary succession. We measured accumulation of total soil nitrogen and changes in inorganic nitrogen (N) pools across a 300-y sequence of river terraces in northwest Alaska and assessed the contribution of the nitrogen-fixing shrub Shepherdia canadensis. Our work compared 5 stages of floodplain succession, progressing from a sparsely vegetated silt cap to dense shrubby vegetation, balsam poplar-dominated (Populus balsamifera) and white spruce-dominated (Picea glauca) mixed forests, and old-growth white spruce forest. Total soil N (0–30 cm depth) increased throughout the age sequence, initially by 2.4 g N·m−2·y−1 during the first 120 y of terrace...
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Nitrogen enters terrestrial ecosystems through multiple pathways during primary succession. We measured accumulation of total soil nitrogen and changes in inorganic nitrogen (N) pools across a 300-y sequence of river terraces in northwest Alaska and assessed the contribution of the nitrogen-fixing shrub Shepherdia canadensis. Our work compared 5 stages of floodplain succession, progressing from a sparsely vegetated silt cap to dense shrubby vegetation, balsam poplar-dominated (Populus balsamifera) and white spruce-dominated (Picea glauca) mixed forests, and old-growth white spruce forest. Total soil N (0–30 cm depth) increased throughout the age sequence, initially by 2.4 g N·m−2·y−1 during the first 120 y of terrace...
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Nitrogen enters terrestrial ecosystems through multiple pathways during primary succession. We measured accumulation of total soil nitrogen and changes in inorganic nitrogen (N) pools across a 300-y sequence of river terraces in northwest Alaska and assessed the contribution of the nitrogen-fixing shrub Shepherdia canadensis. Our work compared 5 stages of floodplain succession, progressing from a sparsely vegetated silt cap to dense shrubby vegetation, balsam poplar-dominated (Populus balsamifera) and white spruce-dominated (Picea glauca) mixed forests, and old-growth white spruce forest. Total soil N (0–30 cm depth) increased throughout the age sequence, initially by 2.4 g N·m−2·y−1 during the first 120 y of terrace...
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