Experimental and ambient warming of Arctic tundra results in emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, contributing to a positive feedback to climate warming. Estimates of gas emissions from lakes and terrestrial tundra confirm the significance of aquatic fluxes in greenhouse gas budgets, whereas few estimates describe emissions from fluvial networks. We measured dissolved gas concentrations and estimated emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) from water tracks, vegetated depressions that hydrologically connect hillslope soils to lakes and streams. Concentrations of trace gases generally increased as ground thaw deepened through the growing season, indicating active production of greenhouse gases in thawed soils. Wet antecedent conditions were correlated with a decline in CO2and CH4concentrations. Dissolved N2O in excess of atmospheric equilibrium occurred in drier water tracks, but on average water tracks took up N2O from the atmosphere at low rates. Estimated CO2emission rates for water tracks were among the highest observed for Arctic aquatic ecosystems, whereas CH4emissions were of similar magnitude to streams. Despite occupying less than 1% of total catchment area, surface waters within water tracks were an estimated source of up to 53–85% of total CH4emissions from their catchments and offset the terrestrial C sink by 5–9% during the growing season. Water tracks are abundant features of tundra landscapes that contain warmer soils and incur deeper thaw than adjacent terrestrial ecosystems and as such might contribute to ongoing and accelerating release of greenhouse gases from permafrost soils to the atmosphere.
Rapid Arctic warming is causing permafrost to thaw and exposing large quantities of soil organic carbon (C) to potential decomposition. In dry upland tundra systems, subsidence from thawing permafrost can increase surface soil moisture resulting in higher methane (CH4) emissions from newly waterlogged soils. The proportion of C released as carbon dioxide (CO2) and CH4remains uncertain as previously dry landscapes transition to a thawed state, resulting in both wetter and drier microsites. To address how thaw and moisture interact to affect total C emissions, we measured CH4and CO2emissions from paired chambers across thaw and moisture gradients created by nine years of experimental soil warming in interior Alaska. Cumulative growing season (May–September) CH4emissions were elevated at both wetter (216.1–1,099.4 mg CH4‐C m−2) and drier (129.7–392.3 mg CH4‐C m−2) deeply thawed microsites relative to shallow thaw (55.6–215.7 mg CH4‐C m−2) and increased with higher deep soil temperatures and permafrost thaw depth. Interannual variability in CH4emissions was driven by wet conditions in graminoid‐dominated plots that generated >70% of emissions in a wet year. Shoulder season emissions were equivalent to growing season CH4emissions rates in the deeply thawed, warmed soils, highlighting the importance of non‐growing season CH4emissions. Net C sink potential was reduced in deeply thawed wet plots by 4%–42%, and by 3.5%–8% in deeply thawed drier plots due to anaerobic respiration, suggesting that some dry upland tundra landscapes may transition into stronger CH4sources in a warming Arctic.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10361483
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
- Volume:
- 126
- Issue:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 2169-8953
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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