Are vegetation influences on Arctic–boreal snow melt rates detectable across the Northern Hemisphere?
The timing and rate of northern high latitude spring snowmelt plays a critical role in surface albedo, hydrology, and soil carbon cycling. Ongoing changes in the abundance and distribution of trees and shrubs in tundra and boreal ecosystems can alter snowmelt via canopy impacts on surface energy par...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac8fa7 |
| _version_ | 1797747337542500352 |
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| author | Heather Kropp Michael M Loranty Nick Rutter Christopher G Fletcher Chris Derksen Lawrence Mudryk Markus Todt |
| author_facet | Heather Kropp Michael M Loranty Nick Rutter Christopher G Fletcher Chris Derksen Lawrence Mudryk Markus Todt |
| author_sort | Heather Kropp |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The timing and rate of northern high latitude spring snowmelt plays a critical role in surface albedo, hydrology, and soil carbon cycling. Ongoing changes in the abundance and distribution of trees and shrubs in tundra and boreal ecosystems can alter snowmelt via canopy impacts on surface energy partitioning. It is unclear whether vegetation-related processes observed at the ecosystem scale influence snowmelt patterns at regional or continental scales. We examined the influence of vegetation cover on snowmelt across the boreal and Arctic region across a ten-year reference period (2000–2009) using a blended snow water equivalent (SWE) data product and gridded estimates of surface temperature, tree cover, and land cover characterized by the dominant plant functional type. Snow melt rates were highest in locations with a late onset of melt, higher temperatures during the melt period, and higher maximum SWE before the onset of melt. After controlling for temperature, melt onset, and the maximum SWE, we found snow melt rates were highest in evergreen needleleaf forest, mixed boreal forest, and herbaceous tundra compared to deciduous needleleaf forest and deciduous shrub tundra. Tree canopy cover had little effect on snowmelt rate within each land cover type. While accounting for the influence of vegetative land cover type is necessary for predictive understanding of snowmelt rate variability across the Arctic – Boreal region. The relationships differed from observations at the ecosystem and catchment scales in other studies. Thus highlighting the importance of spatial scale in identifying snow-vegetation relationships. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d1b165dcd41d4823b674e0c63a4f003f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-d1b165dcd41d4823b674e0c63a4f003f2023-08-09T15:16:29ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-01171010401010.1088/1748-9326/ac8fa7Are vegetation influences on Arctic–boreal snow melt rates detectable across the Northern Hemisphere?Heather Kropp0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4258-3393Michael M Loranty1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8851-7386Nick Rutter2Christopher G Fletcher3Chris Derksen4Lawrence Mudryk5Markus Todt6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9214-5885Environmental Studies Program, Hamilton College , Clinton, NY, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geography, Colgate University , Hamilton, NY, United States of AmericaDepartment of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University , Newcastle upon Tyne, United KingdomGeography and Environmental Management Department, University of Waterloo , Waterloo, CanadaClimate Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada , Toronto, CanadaClimate Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada , Toronto, CanadaDepartment of Meteorology, University of Reading , Reading, United KingdomThe timing and rate of northern high latitude spring snowmelt plays a critical role in surface albedo, hydrology, and soil carbon cycling. Ongoing changes in the abundance and distribution of trees and shrubs in tundra and boreal ecosystems can alter snowmelt via canopy impacts on surface energy partitioning. It is unclear whether vegetation-related processes observed at the ecosystem scale influence snowmelt patterns at regional or continental scales. We examined the influence of vegetation cover on snowmelt across the boreal and Arctic region across a ten-year reference period (2000–2009) using a blended snow water equivalent (SWE) data product and gridded estimates of surface temperature, tree cover, and land cover characterized by the dominant plant functional type. Snow melt rates were highest in locations with a late onset of melt, higher temperatures during the melt period, and higher maximum SWE before the onset of melt. After controlling for temperature, melt onset, and the maximum SWE, we found snow melt rates were highest in evergreen needleleaf forest, mixed boreal forest, and herbaceous tundra compared to deciduous needleleaf forest and deciduous shrub tundra. Tree canopy cover had little effect on snowmelt rate within each land cover type. While accounting for the influence of vegetative land cover type is necessary for predictive understanding of snowmelt rate variability across the Arctic – Boreal region. The relationships differed from observations at the ecosystem and catchment scales in other studies. Thus highlighting the importance of spatial scale in identifying snow-vegetation relationships.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac8fa7snowmeltsnow water equivalentvegetationboreal |
| spellingShingle | Heather Kropp Michael M Loranty Nick Rutter Christopher G Fletcher Chris Derksen Lawrence Mudryk Markus Todt Are vegetation influences on Arctic–boreal snow melt rates detectable across the Northern Hemisphere? Environmental Research Letters snowmelt snow water equivalent vegetation boreal |
| title | Are vegetation influences on Arctic–boreal snow melt rates detectable across the Northern Hemisphere? |
| title_full | Are vegetation influences on Arctic–boreal snow melt rates detectable across the Northern Hemisphere? |
| title_fullStr | Are vegetation influences on Arctic–boreal snow melt rates detectable across the Northern Hemisphere? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Are vegetation influences on Arctic–boreal snow melt rates detectable across the Northern Hemisphere? |
| title_short | Are vegetation influences on Arctic–boreal snow melt rates detectable across the Northern Hemisphere? |
| title_sort | are vegetation influences on arctic boreal snow melt rates detectable across the northern hemisphere |
| topic | snowmelt snow water equivalent vegetation boreal |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac8fa7 |
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