Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Eurasian Steppes. Ecological Problems and Livelihoods in a Changing World pp 445–472Cite as

Effects of Climate Warming and Vegetation Cover on Permafrost of Mongolia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Plant and Vegetation ((PAVE,volume 6))

Abstract

Long-term monitoring of permafrost in Mongolia showed that permafrost under the influence of climate warming is ubiquitously degrading at different rates. The average trends of the increases in active layer thickness and mean annual ground temperature are 5–20 cm and 0.1–0.3°C per decade, respectively. These trends of the last 15–20 years are higher than those of the previous 15–20 years. Furthermore, the degradation of permafrost in the Hövsgöl mountainous region is more intense than in the Hentei and Hangai mountainous regions. Experimental results have shown that vegetation cover, especially moss cover, forest, and dense grass, are natural insulators that maintain lower soil temperature and higher soil moisture by lowering the evaporation rate. Hence, intense grazing may accelerate the degradation of permafrost. Since permafrost plays an important role in the maintenance of ecosystems in this region, the recent degradation of permafrost may lead to significant changes in ecosystems, especially in the soil thermal state and moisture content.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Batima P, Natsagdorj L, Gombluudev P, Erdenetsetseg B (2005) Observed climate change in Mongolia, AIACC, p 25

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayarsaikhan U, Boldgiv B, Kim KR, Park KA, Lee D (2009) Change detection and classification of land cover at Hustai National Park in Mongolia. Int J Appl Earth Obs Geoinform 11:273–280. doi:10.1016/j.jag.2009.03.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown J, Hinkel KM, Nelson FE (2000) The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program research designs and initial results. Polar Geogr 24:165–258

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess MM, Smith SL, Brown J, Romanovsky V, Hinkel K (2000) Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTNet-P): permafrost monitoring contributing to global climate observations. Geological Survey of Canada, Current Research, 2000-E14, pp 1–8

    Google Scholar 

  • CALM (2007) CALM summary data table. Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring. http://www.udel.edu/Geography/calm/data/north.html. Accessed Mar 2011

  • Cannone N, Guglielmin M, Hauck C, Muhll DV (2003) The impact of recent glacier fluctuation and human activities on permafrost distribution, Stelvio Pass (Italian Central-Eastern Alps). In: Philips M, Springman SM, Arenson LU (eds) Eight international conference on permafrost. A.A. Balkema Publishers, Zurich, pp 125–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheng GD, Li X (2003) Constructing the Qinghai-Tibet railroad: new challenges to Chinese permafrost scientists. In: Philips M, Springman SM, Arenson LU (eds) Eight international conference on permafrost. A.A. Balkema Publishers, Zurich, pp 130–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Corsi A, Dore G, Nagpal T, Whitten T, Iyer R, Mearns R, Lyngdoh YR, Rivera S, Ykhanbai H (2002) Mongolia environment monitor. The World Bank, Ulaanbaatar, p 40

    Google Scholar 

  • Cui X, Graf H-F (2009) Recent land cover changes on the Tibetan Plateau: a review. Clim Chang 94:47–61. doi:10.1007/s10584-009-9556-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dagvadorj D, Natsagdorj L, Dorjpurev J, Namkhainyam B (2009) Mongolia assessment report on climate change 2009, Hiimori Printing, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, pp 228

    Google Scholar 

  • Desyatkin AR, Takakai F, Fedorov PP, Nikolaeva MC, Desyatkin RV, Hatano R (2009) CH4 emission from different stages of thermokarst formation in Central Yakutia, East Siberia. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 55:558–570

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Elberling B, Christiansen HH, Hansen BU (2010) High nitrous oxide production from thawing permafrost. Nat Geosci 3:332–335

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Etzelmüller B, Heggem ESF, Sharkhuu N, Frauenfelder R, Kääb A, Goulden C (2006) Mountain permafrost distribution modelling using a multi-criteria approach in the Hövsgöl area, northern Mongolia. Permafrost Periglac Process 17:91–104. doi:10.1002/ppp. 554

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO (2006) Country pasture/Forage resource profiles – Mongolia. http://www.Fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/Mongol2.htm. Accessed Mar 2011

  • Gavrilova MK (2003) Recent climatic change in Asia along Yakutia-Mongolia transect. Pap Meteorol Hydrol 25:11–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Goulden CE, Tsogtbaatar J, Chuluunkhuyag, Hession WC, Tumurbaatar D, Dugarjav C, Cianfrani C, Brusilovskiy P, Namkhaijantsen G, Baatar R (1999) The Mongolian LTER: Hovsgol National Park. Paper presented at the 3rd international conference on Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) in the East Asia-Pacific region, Seoul, Korea, 11–16 Oct 1999

    Google Scholar 

  • Goulden CE, Ariuntsetseg L, Nandintsetseg B, Avirmed O, Batkhishig O, Sharkhuu A, Sharkhuu N (2005) Permafrost thermal properties and thaw and its relationship to soil and plant cover, Lake Hövsgöl, Mongolia. In: AGU fall meeting, San Francisco, pp C31A-1121

    Google Scholar 

  • Gravis GF, Zabolotnik SI, Sukhodrovsky VL, Gavrilova MK, Lisun AM (1974) Geocryological conditions in the People’s Republic of Mongolia. Nauka Publishing, Moscow

    Google Scholar 

  • GTN-P (2010) Borehole metadata: Mongolia. Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost. http://www.gtnp.org/inventory/mongolia_e.html Accessed Mar 2011

  • Harris SA (1998) Effects of vegetation cover on soil heat flux in the Southern Yukon territory. Erdkunde 52:265–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris RN, Chapman DS (1997) Borehole temperatures and a baseline for 20th-century global warming estimates. Science 275:1618–1621. doi:10.1126/science.275.5306.1618

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harris C, Vonder Mühll D, Isaksen K, Haeberli W, Sollid JL, King L, Holmlund P, Dramis F, Guglielmin M, Palacios D (2003) Warming permafrost in European mountains. Glob Planet Change 39(3–4):215–225. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2003.04.001

  • IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: synthesis report. Contribution of working groups I, II and III to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, p 104

    Google Scholar 

  • Ishikawa M, Sharkhuu N, Zhang Y, Kadota T, Ohata T (2005) Ground thermal and moisture conditions at the southern boundary of discontinuous permafrost, Mongolia. Permafrost Periglac Process 16:209–216. doi:10.1002/ppp. 483

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jambaljav Y, Dashtseren A, Solongo D, Saruulzaya A, Battogtokh D, Iijima Y, Ishikawa M, Zhang Y, Yabuki H, Kadota T (2008) The temperature regime in boreholes at Nalaikh and Terelj sites, Mongolia. In: Ninth international conference on permafrost, Fairbanks, Alaska, 29 June–3 July 2008. pp 821–826

    Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis P, Linder S (2000) Botany: constraints to growth of boreal forests. Nature 405:904–905

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jorgenson MT, Racine CH, Walters JC, Osterkamp TE (2001) Permafrost degradation and ecological changes associated with a warming climate in central Alaska. Clim Chang 48:551–579. doi:0.1023/A:1005667424292

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kudryavtsev VA, Garagulya LS, Kondratieva KA, Melamed VG (1974) Osnovi merzlotnogo prognoza pri ingenerno-geologicheskih issledovaniyah [Fundamentals of frost forecasting in geological engineering investigations]. Moskovskogo Universitet, Moscow

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee H, Schuur EAG, Vogel JG (2010) Soil CO2 production in upland tundra where permafrost is thawing. J Geophys Res Biogeosci 115. doi:G0100910.1029/2008jg000906

  • Liancourt P, Sharkhuu A, Ariuntsetseg L, Boldgiv B, Helliker B, Plante A, Petraitis P, Casper B (2012) Temporal and spatial variation in how vegetation alters the soil moisture response to climate manipulation. Plant Soil 351(1):249–261. doi:10.1007/s11104-011-0956-y

    Google Scholar 

  • Nandintsetseg B, Goulden CE (2005) Recent climate change in Northern Mongolia and its impact on ecosystem. In: First international symposium on terrestrial and climate change in Mongolia, 2005, pp 19–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Natsagdorj L, Dagvadorj D, Batima P, Tumurbaatar D (2000) Climate change and its impacts in Mongolia. JEMR Publishing, Ulaanbaatar

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson FE, Shiklomanov NI, Hinkel KM, Christiansen HH (2004) The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) workshop and the CALM II program. Polar Geogr 28:253–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osterkamp TE, Romanovsky VE (1999) Evidence for warming and thawing of discontinuous permafrost in Alaska. Permafrost Periglac Process 10:17–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pavlov AV, Perlshtein GZ (2006) Monitoring and modeling the permafrost dynamics under climate changes. Paper presented at the Asian conference on permafrost, Lanzhou, 7–9 Aug 2006

    Google Scholar 

  • Price LW (1971) Vegetation, microtopography, and depth of active layer on different exposures in subarctic alpine tundra. Ecology 52:638–647

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romanovsky VE, Sergueev DO, Osterkamp TE (2003) Temporal variations in the active layer and near-surface permafrost temperatures at the long-term observatories in Northern Alaska. In: Philips M, Springman SM, Arenson LU (eds) Eight international conference on permafrost. A.A. Balkema Publishers, Zurich, pp 989–994

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuur EAG, Vogel JG, Crummer KG, Lee H, Sickman JO, Osterkamp TE (2009) The effect of permafrost thaw on old carbon release and net carbon exchange from tundra. Nature 459:556–559

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharkhuu N (1998) Trends of permafrost development in the Selenge River basin, Mongolia. In: Lewkowicz AG, Allard M (eds) Seventh international conference on permafrost, Yellowknife, 1998. Collection Nordicana, pp 979–985

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharkhuu N (2000) Regularities in distribution of permafrost in Mongolia, Scientific transitions of the Geo-ecology Institute, MAS, pp 217–232

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharkhuu N (2003) Recent changes in the permafrost of Mongolia. In: Philips M, Springman SM, Arenson LU (eds) Eight international conference on permafrost. A.A. Balkema Publishers, Zurich, pp 1029–1034

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharkhuu A (2007) Effects of snow and vegetation cover on ground surface temperature and active layer thickness in the Hovsgol Mountain taiga zone, Mongolia. Master thesis, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharkhuu N, Anarmaa S (2005) Recent degradation of permafrost in Mongolia. In: First international symposium on terristrial and climate change in Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, 26–28 July 2005. Admon, pp 99–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharkhuu N, Anarmaa S (2008) Ground temperature, soil moisture and seasonal freezing regime in the Hustai National Park, Mongolia. Takhi Trans Sci Articles 9:71–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharkhuu A, Sharkhuu N, Goulden CE (2006) Permafrost condition and changes at eastern shore Hövsgöl Lake, Mongolia. Mongolian Geosci 29:86–93

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharkhuu A, Sharkhuu N, Etzelmuller B, Heggem ESF, Nelson FE, Shiklomanov NI, Goulden CE, Brown J (2007) Permafrost monitoring in the Hovsgol mountain region, Mongolia. J Geophys Res 112:F02S06. doi:10.1029/2006JF000543

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharkhuu N, Sharkhuu A, Romanovsky VE, Yoshikawa K, Nelson FE, Shiklomanov NI (2008) Thermal state of permafrost in Mongolia. In: Ninth international conference on permafrost, Fairbanks, Alaska, 29 June–3 July 2008, pp 1633–1638

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharkhuu N, Anarmaa S, Batbyamba (2010) Thermal insulation of soil surface cover in the Hustai National Park, Mongolia. “Takhi” Transitions of Scientific Articles 9:30–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL (eds) (2007) Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK/New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Wal R, Brooker RW (2004) Mosses mediate grazer impacts on grass abundance in arctic ecosystems. Funct Ecol 18:77–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker DA, Jia GJ, Epstein HE, Raynolds MK, Chapin FS III, Copass C, Hinzman LD, Knudson JA, Maier HA, Michaelson GJ, Nelson F, Ping CL, Romanovsky VE, Shiklomanov N (2003) Vegetation-soil-thaw-depth relationships along a low-arctic bioclimate gradient, Alaska: synthesis of information from the ATLAS studies. Permafrost Periglac Process 14(2):103–123. doi:10.1002/ppp. 452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker DA, Epstein HE, Gould WA, Kelley AM, Kade AN, Knudson JA, Krantz WB, Michaelson G, AP R, Ping C-L, Raynolds MK, Romanovsky VE, Shur Y (2004) Frost-boil ecosystems: complex interactions between landforms, soils, vegetation and climate. Permafrost Periglac Process 15:171–188. doi:10.1002/ppp.487

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang M, Wang S, Yao T, Gou X, Lu A, Guo X (2004) Desertification and its relationship with permafrost degradation in Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) plateau. Cold Reg Sci Technol 39(1):47–53. doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2004.01.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao L, Marchenko SS, Sharkhuu N, Wu T (2008a) Regional changes of permafrost in Central Asia. In: Ninth international conference on permafrost, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, 29 June–3 July 2008, pp 1627–1632

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao L, Wu T, Ding Y, Xie C (2008b) Monitoring permafrost changes on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In: Ninth international conference on permafrost, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, 29 June–3 July 2008, pp 2071–2076

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Within the framework of the CALM project, the University of Cinne (Ken Kenith 2000), and the University of Delaware (F. Nelson and I. Shiklomanov 2003–2007) provided financial support and data loggers for the 2000 and 2003–2007 field trips for monitoring work. Furthermore, within the framework of the GTN-P Project, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (K. Yoshikawa and V. Romanovsky) provided financial support and 20 HOBO U12 data loggers for the 2008 field trip for monitoring. This financial support and the necessary devices within the framework of the international CALM and GTN-P projects were helpful to the researchers who financed the preparation of boreholes and permafrost monitoring work in Mongolia. Monitoring of permafrost and experimental studies in the Hövsgöl region was supported by the GEF/WB Hövsgöl Project. In addition, the monitoring of permafrost in the Terelj and Nalayh sites were conducted within the framework of the IORGC project.

We would also like to thank Drs. Alain Plante and Marinus J.A. Werger for their help in improving the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

    Natsagdorj Sharkhuu

  2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Anarmaa Sharkhuu

Authors
  1. Natsagdorj Sharkhuu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anarmaa Sharkhuu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anarmaa Sharkhuu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Ecology & Biodiversity, Utrecht University, Padualaan, De Uithof 8, Utrecht, 3584 CH, Netherlands

    Marinus J.A. Werger

  2. , Ecology & Biodiversity, Utrecht University, Padualaan, De Uithof 8, Utrecht, 3584 CH, Netherlands

    Marja A. van Staalduinen

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Sharkhuu, N., Sharkhuu, A. (2012). Effects of Climate Warming and Vegetation Cover on Permafrost of Mongolia. In: Werger, M., van Staalduinen, M. (eds) Eurasian Steppes. Ecological Problems and Livelihoods in a Changing World. Plant and Vegetation, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3886-7_17

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation