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Old Crow Flats is a 5600 km2 glaciolacustrine plain that straddles the forest-tundra ecotone in northern Yukon. Continuous taiga corridors occur in the entrenched river valleys, where annual mean ground temperatures (Tg) at the depth of zero annual amplitude at two locations were ?3.1 and ?4.0ºC in 2013. On the Flats, the vegetation cover is patchy, and Tg varied between ?5.1 and ?2.6ºC. Annual mean near-surface permafrost temperatures (Tps) measured on the Flats between 2008 and 2011 in patches of taiga, tall shrubs and low shrubs were correlated with local snow depth. Snow depth was controlled by vegetation height if the snow supply was not limited, for example, where low shrubs and large lakes dominate the landscape....
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Ecosystem-scale methane (CH 4 ) exchange was observed in a poorly-drained black spruce forest over permafrost in interior Alaska during the snow-free seasons of 2011–2013, using the eddy covariance technique. The magnitude of average CH 4 exchange differed depending on wind direction, reflecting spatial variation in soil moisture condition around the observation tower, due to elevation change within the small catchment. In the drier upper position, the seasonal variation in CH 4 emission was explained by the variation in soil water content only. In the wetter bottom, however, in addition to soil temperature and soil water content, seasonal thaw depth of frozen soil was also an important variable explaining the seasonal...
Intensification of permafrost thaw has increased the frequency and magnitude of large permafrost slope disturbances (mega slumps) in glaciogenic terrain of northwestern Canada. Individual thermokarst disturbances up to 40 ha in area have made large volumes of previously frozen, highly weatherable fine-grained sediments available for leaching and transport to adjacent streams, significantly increasing sediment and solute loads in these systems. To test the effects of this climate-sensitive disturbance regime on the ecology of Arctic streams, we explored the relationship between physical and chemical variables and benthic macroinvertebrate communities in disturbed and undisturbed stream reaches in the Peel Plateau...
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Boreal peatlands, a major source of atmospheric CH4 , are characterized by a rapidly fluctuating water table position and meter-scale variations in relief. Regional and ecosystem-based studies show that water table position generally controls CH4 emission from boreal peatlands by influencing the relative extent of the zones of CH4 oxidation and production within the peat profile. We used a combined field and laboratory study to assess the influence of local hydrology on the short-term dynamics of CH4 production, oxidation, and emission from sites in an Alaskan boreal peatland that were characterized by temporarily (site LB1A) and permanently (LB2) water-saturated subsurface peat during the thaw season. The two sites...
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Changes in permafrost distribution in the southern discontinuous zone were evaluated by repeating a 1964 survey through part of the Alaska Highway corridor (56 degrees N-61 degrees N) in northwest Canada. A total of 55 sites from the original survey in northern British Columbia and southern Yukon were located using archival maps and photographs. Probing for frozen ground, manual excavations, air and ground temperature monitoring, borehole drilling and geophysical techniques were used to gather information on present-day permafrost and climatic conditions. Mean annual air temperatures have increased by 1.5-2.0 degrees C since the mid-1970s and significant degradation of permafrost has occurred. Almost half of the...
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Thermokarst is developing in the boreal forests of Alaska where ice-rich discontinuous permafrost is thawing. Thawing destroys the physical foundation (ice-rich soil) on which boreal forest ecosystems rest causing dramatic changes in the ecosystem. Impacts on the forest depend primarily on the type and amount of ice present in the permafrost and on drainage conditions. At sites generally underlain by ice-rich permafrost, forest ecosystems can be completely destroyed. In the Mentasta Pass area, wet sedge meadows, bogs, thermokarst ponds, and lakes are replacing forests. An upland thermokarst site on the University of Alaska Campus consists of polygonal patterns of troughs and pits caused by thawing ice-wedge polygons....
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We examined the effects of fire disturbance on permafrost degradation and thaw settlement across a series of wildfires (from ~1930 to 2010) in the forested areas of collapse-scar bog complexes in the Tanana Flats lowland of interior Alaska. Field measurements were combined with numerical modeling of soil thermal dynamics to assess the roles of fire severity and climate history in postfire permafrost dynamics. Field-based calculations of potential thaw settlement following the loss of remaining ice-rich permafrost averaged 0.6 m. This subsidence would cause the surface elevations of forests to drop on average 0.1 m below the surface water level of adjacent collapse-scar features. Up to 0.5 m of thaw settlement was...
Most spatial modelling of climate change impacts on permafrost has been conducted at half-degree latitude/longitude or coarser spatial resolution. At such coarse resolution, topographic effects on insolation cannot be considered accurately and the results are not suitable for land-use planning and ecological assessment. Here we mapped climate change impacts on permafrost from 1968 to 2100 at 10m resolution using a process-based model for Ivvavik National Park, an Arctic region with complex terrain in northern Yukon, Canada. Soil and drainage conditions were defined based on ecosystem types, which were mapped using SPOT imagery. Leaf area indices were mapped using Landsat imagery and the ecosystem map. Climate distribution...
Thermokarst processes characterize a variety of ice-rich permafrost terrains and often lead to lake formation. The long-term evolution of thermokarst landscapes and the stability and longevity of lakes depend upon climate, vegetation and ground conditions, including the volume of excess ground ice and its distribution. The current lake status of thermokarst-lake landscapes and their future trajectories under climate warming are better understood in the light of their long-term development. We studied lake-rich southern marginal upland of the Yukon Flats (northern interior Alaska) using dated lake-sediment cores, observations of river-cut exposures, and remotely-sensed data. The region features thick (up to 40 m)...
Caribou Poker Creeks Research Watershed is a boreal forest watershed in Interior Alaska that is susceptible to regional warming and permafrost thaw. We measured seasonal foliar N concentrations of the black spruce understory shrubs, Vaccinium uliginosum L., Vaccinium vitis-idaea L., and Ledum palustre L. on north- and south-facing sides of the watershed. We predicted that the shrubs would respond to small-scale changes in active layer and soil climate, and we expected similar responses according to growth strategy (evergreen or deciduous). Overall, foliar N in shrubs was higher on warmer, drier soils with deep active layers: +7.9% N in V. uliginosum, +11.1% N in V. vitis-idaea, and +9.4% N in L. palustre. Each shrub...
Black spruce (Picea mariana) forests represent the dominant vegetation type throughout the North American and Siberian taiga and are generally considered to be pristine, N-limiting environments. The aim of this study was to investigate the fundamental underlying mechanisms which control N availability in these soils with particular reference to the dynamics of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). Our results showed that in these highly organic and low pH soils, soluble N is dominated by organic forms with correspondingly low concentrations of ammonium and nitrate. Amino acids, which are known to be directly taken up by plants growing in these soils, were calculated to constitute 10–20% of the total DON pool. The microbial...
map background search result map search result map Methane Oxidation, Production, and Emission at Contrasting Sites in a Boreal Bog Climate and permafrost dynamics of the Alaskan boreal forest Interactive effects of wildfire and climate on permafrost degradation in Alaskan lowland forests Vegetation-Permafrost Relations within the Forest-Tundra Ecotone near Old Crow, Northern Yukon, Canada SPATIAL AND THERMAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MOUNTAIN PERMAFROST, NORTHWEST CANADA Multi-decadal degradation and persistence of permafrost in the Alaska Highway corridor, northwest Canada Observations of Thermokarst and Its Impact on Boreal Forests in Alaska, U.S.A Methane exchange in a poorly-drained black spruce forest over permafrost observed using the eddy covariance technique Methane Oxidation, Production, and Emission at Contrasting Sites in a Boreal Bog Interactive effects of wildfire and climate on permafrost degradation in Alaskan lowland forests Methane exchange in a poorly-drained black spruce forest over permafrost observed using the eddy covariance technique SPATIAL AND THERMAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MOUNTAIN PERMAFROST, NORTHWEST CANADA Multi-decadal degradation and persistence of permafrost in the Alaska Highway corridor, northwest Canada Climate and permafrost dynamics of the Alaskan boreal forest Observations of Thermokarst and Its Impact on Boreal Forests in Alaska, U.S.A Vegetation-Permafrost Relations within the Forest-Tundra Ecotone near Old Crow, Northern Yukon, Canada