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Early Goose Arrival Increases Soil Nitrogen Availability More Than an Advancing Spring in Coastal Western Alaska

Ecosystems volume 23, pages 1309–1324 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

An understudied aspect of climate change-induced phenological mismatch is its effect on ecosystem functioning, such as nitrogen (N) cycling. Migratory herbivore arrival time may alter N inputs and plant–herbivore feedbacks, whereas earlier springs are predicted to increase N cycling rates through warmer temperatures. However, the relative importance of these shifts in timing and how they interact to affect N cycling are largely unknown. We conducted a 3-year factorial experiment in coastal western Alaska that simulated different timings of Pacific black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) arrival (3 weeks early, typical, 3 weeks late, or no-grazing) and the growing season (ca. 3 weeks advanced and ambient) on adsorbed and mobile inorganic (NH4+–N, NO3−–N) and mobile organic N (amino acid) pools. Early grazing increased NH4+–N, NO3−–N, and amino acids by 103%, 119%, and 7%, respectively, whereas late grazing reduced adsorbed NH4+–N and NO3−–N by 16% and 17%, respectively. In comparison, the advanced growing season increased mobile NH4+–N by 26%. The arrival time by geese and the start of the season did not interact to influence soil N availability. While the onset of spring in our system is advancing at twice the rate of migratory goose arrival, earlier goose migration is likely to be more significant than the advances in springs in influencing soil N, although both early goose arrival and advanced springs are likely to increase N availability in the future. This increase in soil N resources can have a lasting impact on plant community composition and productivity in this N-limited ecosystem.

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Data Availability

The dataset from this manuscript has been uploaded to https://doi.org/10.18739/a22274.

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Acknowledgements

Work was funded by National Science Foundation awards ARC-1304523 and ARC-1304879, and by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Utah State University, and approved as journal paper #9222. R. Choi received support from National Science Foundation award DGE-1633756 and J. Leffler from the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. We thank D. Douglas (USGS) for data on season advancement; N. Dickenson for laboratory resources; S. Durham for statistical advice; K. Foley for field soil measurements; H. Braithwaite, L. Carlson, T. DeMasters, J. Ferguson, R. Hicks, M. Holdrege, K. Lynöe, and S. Walden for field assistance; A. Albee, K. Curtis, and S. Sprouse for laboratory assistance; M. Irinaga, L. Gullingsrud, and L. McFadden at CH2M Hill Polar Services for logistical assistance; Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge staff; and the people of Chevak, AK. Permits obtained for this work include—ADF&G permit: 16–23; USFWS NWR special use permit: FF07RYKD0-14-06; USFWS Migratory Bird permit: MB28352B-0; USU IACUC: 2004. Data are published online at the NSF Arctic Data Center (https://doi.org/10.18739/a22274). Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.

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Author notes

  1. KHB, JMW, AJL, and JAS conceived and designed the experiment. RTC and KCK performed the experiment. RTC analyzed the data. RTC and KHB wrote the manuscript; other authors contributed editorial advice.

Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, 84322-5230, USA

    Ryan T. Choi & Karen H. Beard

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska-Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska, 99508, USA

    Katharine C. Kelsey & Jeffrey M. Welker

  3. Geography and Environmental Science Department, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado, 80217, USA

    Katharine C. Kelsey

  4. Department of Natural Resource Management, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota, 57006, USA

    A. Joshua Leffler

  5. U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska, 99508, USA

    Joel A. Schmutz

  6. UArctic, Ecology and Genetics Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland

    Jeffrey M. Welker

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  1. Ryan T. Choi
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  2. Karen H. Beard
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Correspondence to Karen H. Beard.

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Choi, R.T., Beard, K.H., Kelsey, K.C. et al. Early Goose Arrival Increases Soil Nitrogen Availability More Than an Advancing Spring in Coastal Western Alaska. Ecosystems 23, 1309–1324 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-019-00472-9

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Keywords

  • Carex subspathacea
  • Global change ecology
  • Migration timing
  • Nitrogen
  • Pacific black brant
  • Phenological mismatch
  • Plant–herbivore interactions
  • Trophic mismatch