Phenological mismatch in coastal western Alaska may increase summer season greenhouse gas uptake
High latitude ecosystems are prone to phenological mismatches due to climate change- driven advances in the growing season and changing arrival times of migratory herbivores. These changes have the potential to alter biogeochemical cycling and contribute to feedbacks on climate change by altering gr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2018-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aab698 |
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| author | Katharine C Kelsey A Joshua Leffler Karen H Beard Ryan T Choi Joel A Schmutz Jeffery M Welker |
| author_facet | Katharine C Kelsey A Joshua Leffler Karen H Beard Ryan T Choi Joel A Schmutz Jeffery M Welker |
| author_sort | Katharine C Kelsey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | High latitude ecosystems are prone to phenological mismatches due to climate change- driven advances in the growing season and changing arrival times of migratory herbivores. These changes have the potential to alter biogeochemical cycling and contribute to feedbacks on climate change by altering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of carbon dioxide (CO _2 ), methane (CH _4 ) and nitrous oxide (N _2 O) through large regions of the Arctic. Yet the effects of phenological mismatches on gas fluxes are currently unexplored. We used a three-year field experiment that altered the start of the growing season and timing of grazing to investigate how phenological mismatch affects GHG exchange. We found early grazing increased mean GHG emission to the atmosphere despite lower CH _4 emissions due to grazing-induced changes in vegetation structure that increased uptake of CO _2 . In contrast, late grazing reduced GHG emissions because greater plant productivity led to an increase in CO _2 uptake that overcame the increase in CH _4 emission. Timing of grazing was an important control on both CO _2 and CH _4 emissions, and net GHG exchange was the result of opposing fluxes of CO _2 and CH _4 . N _2 O played a negligible role in GHG flux. Advancing the growing season had a smaller effect on GHG emissions than changes to timing of grazing in this study. Our results suggest that a phenological mismatch that delays timing of grazing relative to the growing season, a change which is already developing along in western coastal Alaska, will reduce GHG emissions to the atmosphere through increased CO _2 uptake despite greater CH _4 emissions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:03:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e145c1a0a9714833b5d6c7cdde8c9b11 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:03:04Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-e145c1a0a9714833b5d6c7cdde8c9b112023-08-09T14:32:58ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262018-01-0113404403210.1088/1748-9326/aab698Phenological mismatch in coastal western Alaska may increase summer season greenhouse gas uptakeKatharine C Kelsey0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4631-8538A Joshua Leffler1Karen H Beard2Ryan T Choi3Joel A Schmutz4Jeffery M Welker5Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, AL, United States of America; Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.Natural Resource Management, South Dakota State University , SD, United States of AmericaDepartment of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University , UT, United States of AmericaNatural Resource Management, South Dakota State University , SD, United States of AmericaUS Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center , Anchorage, AL, United States of AmericaUArctic, Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Finland and University of Alaska Anchorage, AL, United States of AmericaHigh latitude ecosystems are prone to phenological mismatches due to climate change- driven advances in the growing season and changing arrival times of migratory herbivores. These changes have the potential to alter biogeochemical cycling and contribute to feedbacks on climate change by altering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of carbon dioxide (CO _2 ), methane (CH _4 ) and nitrous oxide (N _2 O) through large regions of the Arctic. Yet the effects of phenological mismatches on gas fluxes are currently unexplored. We used a three-year field experiment that altered the start of the growing season and timing of grazing to investigate how phenological mismatch affects GHG exchange. We found early grazing increased mean GHG emission to the atmosphere despite lower CH _4 emissions due to grazing-induced changes in vegetation structure that increased uptake of CO _2 . In contrast, late grazing reduced GHG emissions because greater plant productivity led to an increase in CO _2 uptake that overcame the increase in CH _4 emission. Timing of grazing was an important control on both CO _2 and CH _4 emissions, and net GHG exchange was the result of opposing fluxes of CO _2 and CH _4 . N _2 O played a negligible role in GHG flux. Advancing the growing season had a smaller effect on GHG emissions than changes to timing of grazing in this study. Our results suggest that a phenological mismatch that delays timing of grazing relative to the growing season, a change which is already developing along in western coastal Alaska, will reduce GHG emissions to the atmosphere through increased CO _2 uptake despite greater CH _4 emissions.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aab698Yukon Kuskokwim Deltaclimate changecarbon dioxidemethanenitrous oxidetrophic mismatch |
| spellingShingle | Katharine C Kelsey A Joshua Leffler Karen H Beard Ryan T Choi Joel A Schmutz Jeffery M Welker Phenological mismatch in coastal western Alaska may increase summer season greenhouse gas uptake Environmental Research Letters Yukon Kuskokwim Delta climate change carbon dioxide methane nitrous oxide trophic mismatch |
| title | Phenological mismatch in coastal western Alaska may increase summer season greenhouse gas uptake |
| title_full | Phenological mismatch in coastal western Alaska may increase summer season greenhouse gas uptake |
| title_fullStr | Phenological mismatch in coastal western Alaska may increase summer season greenhouse gas uptake |
| title_full_unstemmed | Phenological mismatch in coastal western Alaska may increase summer season greenhouse gas uptake |
| title_short | Phenological mismatch in coastal western Alaska may increase summer season greenhouse gas uptake |
| title_sort | phenological mismatch in coastal western alaska may increase summer season greenhouse gas uptake |
| topic | Yukon Kuskokwim Delta climate change carbon dioxide methane nitrous oxide trophic mismatch |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aab698 |
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