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Temperature and Microtopography Interact to Control Carbon Cycling in a High Arctic Fen

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Abstract

High arctic wetlands hold large stores of soil carbon (C). The fate of these C stores in a changing climate is uncertain, as rising air temperatures may differentially affect photosynthesis and ecosystem respiration (ER). In this study, open-top warming chambers were used to increase air and soil temperatures in contrasting microtopographic positions of a high arctic fen in NW Greenland. CO2 exchange between the ecosystem and the atmosphere was measured on 28 dates over a 3-year period. Measurements of the normalized difference vegetation index, leaf and stem growth, leaf-level gas exchange, leaf nitrogen, leaf δ13C, and fine root production were made to investigate the mechanisms and consequences of observed changes in CO2 exchange. Gross ecosystem photosynthesis (GEP) increased with chamber warming in hollows, which are characterized by standing water, and in hummocks, which extend above the water table. ER, however, increased only in hummocks, such that net ecosystem exchange (NEE) increased in hollows, but did not change in hummocks with chamber warming. Complementary measurements of plant growth revealed that increases in GEP corresponded with increases in C allocation to aboveground biomass in hummocks and belowground biomass in hollows. Our results and those of several recent studies clearly demonstrate that effects of climate change on the C balance of northern wetlands will depend upon microtopography which, in turn, may be sensitive to climate change.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants #0221606 and 0528748 from the National Science Foundation. We thank M. Smith, J. DeCant, H. Ohms, S. Cahoon, K. Persson and M. Rogers for field assistance. The comments of two anonymous reviewers substantially improved this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environment and Natural Resources Institute, University of Alaska, Anchorage, AK, 99501, USA

    Patrick F. Sullivan, Seth J. T. Arens & Jeffrey M. Welker

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

    Patrick F. Sullivan, Seth J. T. Arens & Jeffrey M. Welker

  3. Ecosystem Science Center, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA

    Rodney A. Chimner

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  1. Patrick F. Sullivan
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  2. Seth J. T. Arens
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  3. Rodney A. Chimner
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  4. Jeffrey M. Welker
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Correspondence to Patrick F. Sullivan.

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Sullivan, P.F., Arens, S.J.T., Chimner, R.A. et al. Temperature and Microtopography Interact to Control Carbon Cycling in a High Arctic Fen. Ecosystems 11, 61–76 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-007-9107-y

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