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1. Delayed herbivory by migratory geese increases summer‐long CO 2 uptake in coastal western Alaska

   https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14473  

   Leffler, A. Joshua ; Beard, Karen H. ; Kelsey, Katharine C. ; Choi, Ryan T. ; Schmutz, Joel A. ; Welker, Jeffrey M. ( November 2018 , Global Change Biology)

   The advancement of spring and the differential ability of organisms to respond to changes in plant phenology may lead to “phenological mismatches” as a result of climate change. One potential for considerable mismatch is between migratory birds and food availability in northern breeding ranges, and these mismatches may have consequences for ecosystem function. We conducted a three‐year experiment to examine the consequences for CO₂exchange of advanced spring green‐up and altered timing of grazing by migratory Pacific black brant in a coastal wetland in western Alaska. Experimental treatments represent the variation in green‐up and timing of peak grazing intensity that currently exists in the system. Delayed grazing resulted in greater net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and gross primary productivity (GPP), while early grazing reduced CO₂uptake with the potential of causing net ecosystem carbon (C) loss in late spring and early summer. Conversely, advancing the growing season only influenced ecosystem respiration (ER), resulting in a small increase in ER with no concomitant impact on GPP or NEE. The experimental treatment that represents the most likely future, with green‐up advancing more rapidly than arrival of migratory geese, results in NEE changing by 1.2 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹toward a greater CO₂sink in spring and summer. Increased sink strength, however, may be mitigated by early arrival of migratory geese, which would reduce CO₂uptake. Importantly, while the direct effect of climate warming on phenology of green‐up has a minimal influence on NEE, the indirect effect of climate warming manifest through changes in the timing of peak grazing can have a significant impact on C balance in northern coastal wetlands. Furthermore, processes influencing the timing of goose migration in the winter range can significantly influence ecosystem function in summer habitats.

    

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2. Semiarid ecosystem sensitivity to precipitation extremes: weak evidence for vegetation constraints

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2572  

   Felton, Andrew J. ; Zavislan‐Pullaro, Sam ; Smith, Melinda D. ( January 2019 , Ecology)

   In semiarid regions, vegetation constraints on plant growth responses to precipitation (PPT) are hypothesized to place an upper limit on net primary productivity (NPP), leading to predictions of future shifts from currently defined linear to saturatingNPP–PPTrelationships as increases in both dry and wetPPTextremes occur. We experimentally tested this prediction by imposing a replicated gradient of growing seasonPPT(GSP,n = 11 levels,n = 4 replicates), ranging from the driest to wettest conditions in the 75‐yr climate record, within a semiarid grassland. We focused on responses of two key ecosystem processes: abovegroundNPP(ANPP) and soil respiration (R_s).ANPPandR_sboth exhibited greater relative responses to wet vs. dryGSPextremes, with a linear relationship consistently best explaining the response of both processes toGSP. However, this responsiveness toGSPpeaked at moderate levels of extremity for both processes, and declined at the most extremeGSPlevels, suggesting that greater sensitivity ofANPPandR_sto wet vs. dry conditions may diminish under increased magnitudes ofGSPextremes. Underlying these responses was rapid plant compositional change driven by increased forb production and cover asGSPtransitioned to extreme wet conditions. This compositional shift increased the magnitude ofANPPresponses to wetGSPextremes, as well as the slope and variability explained in theANPP–GSPrelationship. Our findings suggest that rapid plant compositional change may act as a mediator of semiarid ecosystem responses to predicted changes inGSPextremes.

    

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3. Biome Transition Along Elevational Gradients in New Mexico (SEON) Study: Flux Tower Net Primary Productivity (NPP) Quadrat Study at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/3e38dae78feeb17cbe5b8666ace0f1ab  

   Baur, Lauren ; Collins, Scott ; Muldavin, Esteban ; Rudgers, Jennifer A ; Pockman, William T. ( January 2021 , Environmental Data Initiative)

   The varied topography and large elevation gradients that characterize the arid and semi-arid Southwest create a wide range of climatic conditions - and associated biomes - within relatively short distances. This creates an ideal experimental system in which to study the effects of climate on ecosystems. Such studies are critical given that the Southwestern U.S. has already experienced changes in climate that have altered precipitation patterns (Mote et al. 2005), and stands to experience dramatic climate change in the coming decades (Seager et al. 2007; Ting et al. 2007). Climate models currently predict an imminent transition to a warmer, more arid climate in the Southwest (Seager et al. 2007; Ting et al. 2007). Thus, high elevation ecosystems, which currently experience relatively cool and mesic climates, will likely resemble their lower elevation counterparts, which experience a hotter and drier climate. In order to predict regional changes in carbon storage, hydrologic partitioning and water resources in response to these potential shifts, it is critical to understand how both temperature and soil moisture affect processes such as evaportranspiration (ET), total carbon uptake through gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (Reco), and net ecosystem exchange of carbon, water and energy across elevational gradients. We are using a sequence of six widespread biomes along an elevational gradient in New Mexico -- ranging from hot, arid ecosystems at low elevations to cool, mesic ecosystems at high elevation to test specific hypotheses related to how climatic controls over ecosystem processes change across this gradient. We have an eddy covariance tower and associated meteorological instruments in each biome which we are using to directly measure the exchange of carbon, water and energy between the ecosystem and the atmosphere. This gradient offers us a unique opportunity to test the interactive effects of temperature and soil moisture on ecosystem processes, as temperature decreases and soil moisture increases markedly along the gradient and varies through time within sites. This dataset examines how different stages of burn affects above-ground biomass production (ANPP) in a mixed desert-grassland. Net primary production is a fundamental ecological variable that quantifies rates of carbon consumption and fixation. Estimates of NPP are important in understanding energy flow at a community level as well as spatial and temporal responses to a range of ecological processes. Above-ground net primary production is the change in plant biomass, represented by stems, flowers, fruit and foliage, over time and incorporates growth as well as loss to death and decomposition. To measure this change the vegetation variables in this dataset, including species composition and the cover and height of individuals, are sampled twice yearly (spring and fall) at permanent 1m x 1m plots. The data from these plots is used to build regressions correlating biomass and volume via weights of select harvested species obtained in SEV157, "Net Primary Productivity (NPP) Weight Data." This biomass data is included in SEV292, "Flux Tower Seasonal Biomass and Seasonal and Annual NPP Data." 

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4. A decade of boreal rich fen greenhouse gas fluxes in response to natural and experimental water table variability

   https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13612  

   Olefeldt, David ; Euskirchen, Eugénie S. ; Harden, Jennifer ; Kane, Evan ; McGuire, A. David ; Waldrop, Mark P. ; Turetsky, Merritt R. ( January 2017 , Global Change Biology)

   Rich fens are common boreal ecosystems with distinct hydrology, biogeochemistry and ecology that influence their carbon (C) balance. We present growing season soil chamber methane emission (F_CH4), ecosystem respiration (ER), net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and gross primary production (GPP) fluxes from a 9‐years water table manipulation experiment in an Alaskan rich fen. The study included major flood and drought years, where wetting and drying treatments further modified the severity of droughts. Results support previous findings from peatlands that drought causes reduced magnitude of growing seasonF_CH4,GPPandNEE, thus reducing or reversing their C sink function. Experimentally exacerbated droughts further reduced the capacity for the fen to act as a C sink by causing shifts in vegetation and thus reducing magnitude of maximum growing seasonGPPin subsequent flood years by ~15% compared to control plots. Conversely, water table position had only a weak influence onER, but dominant contribution toERswitched from autotrophic respiration in wet years to heterotrophic in dry years. Droughts did not cause inter‐annual lag effects onERin this rich fen, as has been observed in several nutrient‐poor peatlands. WhileERwas dependent on soil temperatures at 2 cm depth,F_CH4was linked to soil temperatures at 25 cm. Inter‐annual variability of deep soil temperatures was in turn dependent on wetness rather than air temperature, and higherF_CH4in flooded years was thus equally due to increased methane production at depth and decreased methane oxidation near the surface. Short‐term fluctuations in wetness caused significant lag effects onF_CH4, but droughts caused no inter‐annual lag effects onF_CH4. Our results show that frequency and severity of droughts and floods can have characteristic effects on the exchange of greenhouse gases, and emphasize the need to project future hydrological regimes in rich fens.

    

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5. Divergent carbon cycle response of forest and grass‐dominated northern temperate ecosystems to record winter warming

   https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14850  

   Sanders‐DeMott, Rebecca ; Ouimette, Andrew P. ; Lepine, Lucie C. ; Fogarty, Sean Z. ; Burakowski, Elizabeth A. ; Contosta, Alexandra R. ; Ollinger, Scott V. ( October 2019 , Global Change Biology)

   Northern temperate ecosystems are experiencing warmer and more variable winters, trends that are expected to continue into the foreseeable future. Despite this, most studies have focused on climate change impacts during the growing season, particularly when comparing responses across different vegetation cover types. Here we examined how a perennial grassland and adjacent mixed forest ecosystem in New Hampshire, United States, responded to a period of highly variable winters from 2014 through 2017 that included the warmest winter on record to date. In the grassland, record‐breaking temperatures in the winter of 2015/2016 led to a February onset of plant growth and the ecosystem became a sustained carbon sink well before winter ended, taking up roughly 90 g/m²more carbon during the winter to spring transition than in other recorded years. The forest was an unusually large carbon source during the same period. While forest photosynthesis was restricted by leaf‐out phenology, warm winter temperatures caused large pulses of ecosystem respiration that released nearly 230 g C/m²from February through April, more than double the carbon losses during that period in cooler years. These findings suggest that, as winters continue to warm, increases in ecosystem respiration outside the growing season could outpace increases in carbon uptake during a longer growing season, particularly in forests that depend on leaf‐out timing to initiate carbon uptake. In ecosystems with a perennial leaf habit, warming winter temperatures are more likely to increase ecosystem carbon uptake through extension of the active growing season. Our results highlight the importance of understanding relationships among antecedent winter conditions and carbon exchange across land‐cover types to understand how landscape carbon exchange will change under projected climate warming.

    

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