The importance of interactions between snow, permafrost and vegetation dynamics in affecting terrestrial carbon balance in circumpolar regions
Permafrost dynamics can drastically affect vegetation and soil carbon dynamics in northern high latitudes. Vegetation has significant influences on the energy balance of soil surface by impacting the short-wave radiation, long-wave radiation and surface sensible heat flux, affecting soil thermal dyn...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acc1f7 |
| _version_ | 1797747424855326720 |
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| author | Yiming Xu Qianlai Zhuang |
| author_facet | Yiming Xu Qianlai Zhuang |
| author_sort | Yiming Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Permafrost dynamics can drastically affect vegetation and soil carbon dynamics in northern high latitudes. Vegetation has significant influences on the energy balance of soil surface by impacting the short-wave radiation, long-wave radiation and surface sensible heat flux, affecting soil thermal dynamics, in turn, inducing vegetation shift, affecting carbon cycling. During winter, snow can also significantly impact soil temperature due to its insulative effect. However, these processes have not been fully modeled to date. To quantify the interactions between vegetation, snow, and soil thermal dynamics and their impacts on carbon dynamics over the circumpolar region (45–90° N), we revise a sophisticated ecosystem model to improve simulations of soil temperature profile and their influences on vegetation, ecosystem carbon pools and fluxes. We find that, with warmer soil temperature in winter and cooler soil temperature in summer simulated with the revised model considering vegetation shift and snow effects, the region will release 1.54 Pg C/year to the atmosphere for present-day and 66.77–87.95 Pg C in 2022–2100. The canopy effects due to vegetation shift, however, will get more carbon sequestered into the ecosystem at 1.00 Pg C/year for present day and 36.09–44.32 Pg C/year in 2022–2100. This study highlights the importance to consider the interactions between snow, vegetation shift and soil thermal dynamics in simulating carbon dynamics in the region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e9181357f2ea42eda08d13551ea612a0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-e9181357f2ea42eda08d13551ea612a02023-08-09T15:14:29ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262023-01-0118404400710.1088/1748-9326/acc1f7The importance of interactions between snow, permafrost and vegetation dynamics in affecting terrestrial carbon balance in circumpolar regionsYiming Xu0Qianlai Zhuang1Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University , West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States of AmericaDepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University , West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States of AmericaPermafrost dynamics can drastically affect vegetation and soil carbon dynamics in northern high latitudes. Vegetation has significant influences on the energy balance of soil surface by impacting the short-wave radiation, long-wave radiation and surface sensible heat flux, affecting soil thermal dynamics, in turn, inducing vegetation shift, affecting carbon cycling. During winter, snow can also significantly impact soil temperature due to its insulative effect. However, these processes have not been fully modeled to date. To quantify the interactions between vegetation, snow, and soil thermal dynamics and their impacts on carbon dynamics over the circumpolar region (45–90° N), we revise a sophisticated ecosystem model to improve simulations of soil temperature profile and their influences on vegetation, ecosystem carbon pools and fluxes. We find that, with warmer soil temperature in winter and cooler soil temperature in summer simulated with the revised model considering vegetation shift and snow effects, the region will release 1.54 Pg C/year to the atmosphere for present-day and 66.77–87.95 Pg C in 2022–2100. The canopy effects due to vegetation shift, however, will get more carbon sequestered into the ecosystem at 1.00 Pg C/year for present day and 36.09–44.32 Pg C/year in 2022–2100. This study highlights the importance to consider the interactions between snow, vegetation shift and soil thermal dynamics in simulating carbon dynamics in the region.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acc1f7permafrostcarbon dynamicsecosystem modelingland surface process |
| spellingShingle | Yiming Xu Qianlai Zhuang The importance of interactions between snow, permafrost and vegetation dynamics in affecting terrestrial carbon balance in circumpolar regions Environmental Research Letters permafrost carbon dynamics ecosystem modeling land surface process |
| title | The importance of interactions between snow, permafrost and vegetation dynamics in affecting terrestrial carbon balance in circumpolar regions |
| title_full | The importance of interactions between snow, permafrost and vegetation dynamics in affecting terrestrial carbon balance in circumpolar regions |
| title_fullStr | The importance of interactions between snow, permafrost and vegetation dynamics in affecting terrestrial carbon balance in circumpolar regions |
| title_full_unstemmed | The importance of interactions between snow, permafrost and vegetation dynamics in affecting terrestrial carbon balance in circumpolar regions |
| title_short | The importance of interactions between snow, permafrost and vegetation dynamics in affecting terrestrial carbon balance in circumpolar regions |
| title_sort | importance of interactions between snow permafrost and vegetation dynamics in affecting terrestrial carbon balance in circumpolar regions |
| topic | permafrost carbon dynamics ecosystem modeling land surface process |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acc1f7 |
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