Permafrost Effect on the Spatial Distribution of CO<sub>2</sub> Emission in the North of Western Siberia (Russia)

The landscapes in the discontinuous permafrost area of Western Siberia are unique objects for assessing the direct and indirect impact of permafrost on greenhouse gas fluxes. The aim of this study was to identify the influence of permafrost on the CO<sub>2</sub> emission at the landscape...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Olga Goncharova, Georgy Matyshak, Maria Timofeeva, Stanislav Chuvanov, Matvey Tarkhov, Anna Isaeva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-06-01
Series:C
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5629/9/2/58
Description
Summary:The landscapes in the discontinuous permafrost area of Western Siberia are unique objects for assessing the direct and indirect impact of permafrost on greenhouse gas fluxes. The aim of this study was to identify the influence of permafrost on the CO<sub>2</sub> emission at the landscape and local levels. The CO<sub>2</sub> emission from the soil surface with the removed vegetation cover was measured by the closed chamber method, with simultaneous measurements of topsoil temperature and moisture and thawing depth in forest, palsa, and bog ecosystems in August 2022. The CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from the soils of the forest ecosystems averaged 485 mg CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>−2</sup> h<sup>−1</sup> and was 3–3.5 times higher than those from the peat soils of the palsa mound and adjacent bog (on average, 150 mg CO<sub>2</sub> m<sup>−2</sup> h<sup>−1</sup>). The high CO<sub>2</sub> emission in the forest was due to the mild soil temperature regime, high root biomass, and good water–air permeability of soils in the absence of permafrost. A considerable warming of bog soils, and the redistribution of CO<sub>2</sub> between the elevated palsa and the bog depression with water flows above the permafrost table, equalized the values of CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from the palsa and bog soils. Soil moisture was a significant factor of the spatial variability in the CO<sub>2</sub> emission at all levels. The temperature affected the CO<sub>2</sub> emission only at the sites with a shallow thawing depth.
ISSN:2311-5629