TY - JOUR

T1 - A comparison of annual and seasonal carbon dioxide effluxes between subarctic Sweden and high-arctic Svalbard

AU - Björkman, Mats P.

AU - Morgner, Elke

AU - Björk, Robert G.

AU - Cooper, Elisabet J.

AU - Elberling, Bo

AU - Klemedtsson, Leif

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - Recent climate change predictions suggest altered patterns of winter precipitationacross the Arctic. It has been suggested that the presence, timing andquantity of snow all affect microbial activity, thus influencing CO2 productionin soil. In this study annual and seasonal emissions of CO2 were estimated inHigh-Arctic Adventdalen, Svalbard, and sub-Arctic Latnjajaure, Sweden, usinga new trace gas-based method to track real-time diffusion rates through thesnow. Summer measurements from snow-free soils were made using achamber-based method. Measurements were obtained from different snowregimes in order to evaluate the effect of snow depth on winter CO2 effluxes.Total annual emissions of CO2 from the sub-Arctic site (0.662–1.487 kg CO2 m–2yr–1) were found to be more than double the emissions from the High-Arcticsite (0.369–0.591 kg CO2 m–2 yr–1). There were no significant differences inwinter effluxes between snow regimes or vegetation types, indicating thatspatial variability in winter soil CO2 effluxes are not directly linked to snowcover thickness or soil temperatures. Total winter emissions (0.004–0.248 kg CO2 m–2) were found to be in the lower range of those previouslydescribed in the literature. Winter emissions varied in their contribution tototal annual production between 1 and 18%. Artificial snow drifts shortenedthe snow-free period by 2 weeks and decreased the annual CO2 emission by upto 20%. This study suggests that future shifts in vegetation zones may increasesoil respiration from Arctic tundra regions

AB - Recent climate change predictions suggest altered patterns of winter precipitationacross the Arctic. It has been suggested that the presence, timing andquantity of snow all affect microbial activity, thus influencing CO2 productionin soil. In this study annual and seasonal emissions of CO2 were estimated inHigh-Arctic Adventdalen, Svalbard, and sub-Arctic Latnjajaure, Sweden, usinga new trace gas-based method to track real-time diffusion rates through thesnow. Summer measurements from snow-free soils were made using achamber-based method. Measurements were obtained from different snowregimes in order to evaluate the effect of snow depth on winter CO2 effluxes.Total annual emissions of CO2 from the sub-Arctic site (0.662–1.487 kg CO2 m–2yr–1) were found to be more than double the emissions from the High-Arcticsite (0.369–0.591 kg CO2 m–2 yr–1). There were no significant differences inwinter effluxes between snow regimes or vegetation types, indicating thatspatial variability in winter soil CO2 effluxes are not directly linked to snowcover thickness or soil temperatures. Total winter emissions (0.004–0.248 kg CO2 m–2) were found to be in the lower range of those previouslydescribed in the literature. Winter emissions varied in their contribution tototal annual production between 1 and 18%. Artificial snow drifts shortenedthe snow-free period by 2 weeks and decreased the annual CO2 emission by upto 20%. This study suggests that future shifts in vegetation zones may increasesoil respiration from Arctic tundra regions

U2 - 10.1111/j.1751-8369.2010.00150.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1751-8369.2010.00150.x

M3 - Journal article

VL - 29

SP - 75

EP - 84

JO - Polar Research

JF - Polar Research

SN - 0800-0395

IS - 1

ER -