Summary
Net Ecosystem CO2 Exchange (NEE) was studied during the summer season (June–August) at a high Arctic heath ecosystem for 5 years in Zackenberg, NE Greenland. Integrated over the 80 day summer season, the heath is presently a sink ranging from −1.4 g C m−2 in 1997 to −23.3 g C m−2 in 2003. The results indicate that photosynthesis might be more variable than ecosystem respiration on the seasonal timescale. The years focused on in this paper differ climatically, which is reflected in the measured fluxes. The environmental conditions during the five years strongly indicated that time of snow-melt and air temperature during the growing season are closely related to the interannual variation in the measured fluxes of CO2 at the heath. Our estimates suggest that net ecosystem CO2 uptake is enhanced by 0.16 g C m−2 per increase in growing degree-days during the period of growth. This study emphasises that increased summer time air temperatures are favourable for this particular ecosystem in terms of carbon accumulation.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
M Aurela T Laurila JP Tuovinen (2001a) ArticleTitleSeasonal CO2 balances of a subarctic mire J Geophys Res-Atmos 106 1623–1637 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2000JD900481
M Aurela T Laurila JP Tuovinen (2004) ArticleTitleThe timing of snow melt controls the annual CO2 balance in a subarctic fen Geophys Res Lett 31 1–4 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2004GL020315
M Aurela JP Tuovinen T Laurila (2001b) ArticleTitleNet CO2 exchange of a subarctic mountain birch ecosystem Theor Appl Climatol 70 135–148 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s007040170011
D Baldocchi E Falge LH Gu R Olson D Hollinger S Running P Anthoni C Bernhofer K Davis R Evans J Fuentes A Goldstein G Katul B Law XH Lee Y Malhi T Meyers W Munger W Oechel K U K Pilegaard HP Schmid R Valentini S Verma T Vesala K Wilson S Wofsy (2001) ArticleTitleFLUXNET: A new tool to study the temporal and spatial variability of ecosystem-scale carbon dioxide, water vapor, and energy flux densities Bull Amer Meteor Soc 82 2415–2434 Occurrence Handle10.1175/1520-0477(2001)082<2415:FANTTS>2.3.CO;2
LC Bliss NV Matveyeva (1992) Circumpolar arctic vegetation FS Chapin SuffixIII RL Jefferies JF Reynolds GR Shaver J Svoboda (Eds) Arctic ecosystems in a changing climate: an ecophysiological perspektive Academic Press San Diego 59–89
TR Christensen T Friborg M Sommerkorn J Kaplan L Illeris H Soegaard C Nordstroem S Jonasson (2000) ArticleTitleTrace gas exchange in a high-arctic valley 1. Variations in CO2 and CH4 flux between tundra vegetation types Global Biogeochemical Cycles 14 701–713 Occurrence Handle10.1029/1999GB001134
B Elberling BH Jakobsen P Berg J Sondergaard C Sigsgaard (2004) ArticleTitleInfluence of vegetation, temperature, and water content on soil carbon distribution and mineralization in four high Arctic soils Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research 36 528–538 Occurrence Handle10.1657/1523-0430(2004)036[0528:IOVTAW]2.0.CO;2
JT Fahnestock MH Jones JM Welker (1999) ArticleTitleWintertime CO2 efflux from arctic soils: Implications for annual carbon budgets Global Biogeochemical Cycles 13 775–779 Occurrence Handle10.1029/1999GB900006
E Falge D Baldocchi R Olson P Anthoni M Aubinet C Bernhofer G Burba R Ceulemans R Clement H Dolman A Granier P Gross T Grunwald D Hollinger NO Jensen G Katul P Keronen A Kowalski CT Lai BE Law T Meyers H Moncrieff E Moors JW Munger K Pilegaard U Rannik C Rebmann A Suyker J Tenhunen K Tu S Verma T Vesala K Wilson S Wofsy (2001) ArticleTitleGap filling strategies for defensible annual sums of net ecosystem exchange Agric Forest Meteorol 107 43–69 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0168-1923(00)00225-2
Y Harazono M Mano A Miyata RC Zulueta WC Oechel (2003) ArticleTitleInter-annual carbon dioxide uptake of a wet sedge tundra ecosystem in the Arctic Tellus Series B-Chemical and Physical Meteorology 55 215–231 Occurrence Handle10.1034/j.1600-0889.2003.00012.x
Y Harazono M Yoshimoto M Mano GL Vourlitis WC Oechel (1998) ArticleTitleCharacteristics of energy and water budgets over wet sedge and tussock tundra ecosystems at North Slope in Alaska Hydrological Processes 12 2163–2183 Occurrence Handle10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(19981030)12:13/14<2163::AID-HYP727>3.0.CO;2-Y
M Havstrom TV Callaghan S Jonasson (1993) ArticleTitleDifferential growth-responses of Cassiope-Tetragona; An Arctic Dwarf-Shrub, to environmental perturbations among 3 contrasting high sites and sub-arctic sites Oikos 66 389–402 Occurrence Handle10.2307/3544933
JEP Heikkinen V Elsakov PJ Martikainen (2002) ArticleTitleCarbon dioxide and methane dynamics and annual carbon balance in tundra wetland in NE Europe, Russia Global Biogeochemical Cycles 16 art-1115 Occurrence Handle10.1029/2002GB001930
SE Hobbie JP Schimel SE Trumbore JR Randerson (2000) ArticleTitleControls over carbon storage and turnover in high-latitude soils Global Change Biology 6 196–210 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2486.2000.06021.x
H Huntington G Weller E Bush TV Callaghan M Kattsov M Nuttall (2004) An introduction to the Arctic climate impact assesment SeriesTitleACIA, Impacts of a warming Arctic: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment University Press Cambridge 1–20
L Illeris A Michelsen S Jonasson (2003) ArticleTitleSoil plus root respiration and microbial biomass following water, nitrogen, and phosphorus application at a high arctic semi desert Biogeochemistry 65 15–29 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1026034523499
InstitutionalAuthorNameIPCC (2001) IPCC: Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Contribution of working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Cambridge University Press Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA
Jonasson S, Chapin III FS, Shaver GR (2001) Biogeochemistry in the Arctic: patterns, processes and controls. In: Schulze E-D, Heimann M, Harrison S, Holland E, Lloyd J, Prentice IC, Schimel D (eds) Global biogeochemical cycles in the climate system. Academic Press, pp 139–150
MH Jones JT Fahnestock PD Stahl JM Welker (2000) ArticleTitleA note on summer CO2 flux, soil organic matter, and microbial biomass from different high arctic ecosystem types in northwestern Greenland Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research 32 104–106 Occurrence Handle10.2307/1552415
MH Jones JT Fahnestock DA Walker MD Walker JM Welker (1998) ArticleTitleCarbon dioxide fluxes in moist and dry arctic tundra during season: Responses to increases in summer temperature and winter snow accumulation Arctic and Alpine Research 30 373–380 Occurrence Handle10.2307/1552009
MB Lavigne MG Ryan DE Anderson DD Baldocchi PM Crill DR Fitzjarrald ML Goulden ST Gower JM Massheder JH McCaughey M Rayment RG Striegl (1997) ArticleTitleComparing nocturnal eddy covariance measurements to estimates of ecosystem respiration made by scaling chamber measurements at six coniferous boreal sites J Geophys Res-Atmos 102 28977–28985 Occurrence Handle10.1029/97JD01173
CR Lloyd (2001a) ArticleTitleOn the physical controls of the carbon dioxide balance at a high Arctic site in Svalbard Theor Appl Climatol 70 167–182 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s007040170013
CR Lloyd (2001b) ArticleTitleThe measurement and modelling of the carbon dioxide exchange at a high Arctic site in Svalbard Global Change Biology 7 405–426 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2486.2001.00422.x
B Maxwell (1992) Arctic climate: potential for change under global warming FS Chapin SuffixIII RL Jefferies JF Reynolds GR Shaver J Svoboda (Eds) Arctic ecosystems in a changing climate Academic Press San Diego California 11–34
GA McBean G Alekseev D Chen E Førland J Fyfe PY Groisman R King H Melling R Vose PH Whitfield (2004) Arctic climate – past and present SeriesTitleACIA, Impacts of a warming Arctic: Arctic Climate Impact Assessment University Press Cambridge 22–55
RT Mcmillen (1988) ArticleTitleAn eddy-correlation technique with extended applicability to non-simple terrain Bound-Layer Meteor 43 231–245 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00128405
JB Moncrieff JM Massheder H deBruin J Elbers T Friborg B Heusinkveld P Kabat S Scott H Soegaard A Verhoef (1997) ArticleTitleA system to measure surface fluxes of momentum, sensible heat, water vapour and carbon dioxide J Hydrol 189 589–611 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0022-1694(96)03194-0
CJ Moore (1986) ArticleTitleFrequency-response corrections for eddy-correlation systems Bound-Layer Meteor 37 17–35 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00122754
C Nordstroem H Soegaard TR Christensen T Friborg BU Hansen (2001) ArticleTitleSeasonal carbon dioxide balance and respiration of a high-arctic fen ecosystem in NE-Greenland Theor Appl Climatol 70 149–166 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s007040170012
W Oechel WD Billings (1992) Effects of global change on the carbon balance of arctic plants and ecosystems FS Chapin SuffixIII RL Jefferies JF Reynolds GR Shaver J Svoboda (Eds) Arctic ecosystems in a changing climate Academic Press San Diego, California 139–168
WC Oechel SJ Hastings G Vourlitis M Jenkins G Riechers N Grulke (1993) ArticleTitleRecent change of Arctic Tundra ecosystems from a net carbon-dioxide sink to a source Nature 361 520–523 Occurrence Handle10.1038/361520a0
WC Oechel G Vourlitis SJ Hastings (1997) ArticleTitleCold season CO2 emission from arctic soils Global Biogeochemical Cycles 11 163–172 Occurrence Handle10.1029/96GB03035
WC Oechel GL Vourlitis (1994) ArticleTitleThe effects of climate-change on land atmosphere feedbacks in Arctic Tundra regions Trends in Ecology & Evolution 9 324–329 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0169-5347(94)90152-X
WC Oechel GL Vourlitis SJ Hastings SA Bochkarev (1995) ArticleTitleChange in Arctic CO2 flux over 2 decades – effects of climate-change at Barrow, Alaska Ecological Applications 5 846–855 Occurrence Handle10.2307/1941992
WC Oechel GL Vourlitis J Verfaillie T Crawford S Brooks E Dumas A Hope D Stow B Boynton V Nosov R Zulueta (2000) ArticleTitleA scaling approach for quantifying the net CO2 flux of the Kuparuk River Basin, Alaska Global Change Biology 6 160–173 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2486.2000.06018.x
H Petersen H Meltofte S Rysgaard M Rasch S Jonasson TR Christensen T Friborg H Soegaard SA Pedersen (2001) The Arctic AM Jørgensen J Fenger K Halnaes (Eds) Climate change research – Danish contributions Danish Meteorological Institute and Gads Forlag Copenhagen 303–330
Rasch M, Canning K (2003) Zackenberg Ecological Research Operations, 8th Annual Report, 2002. Copenhagen: Danish Polar Center, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
Rasch M, Canning K (2004) Zackenberg Ecological Research Operations, 9th Annual Report, 2003. Copenhagen: Danish Polar Center, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
A Ruimy PG Jarvis DD Baldocchi B Saugier (1995) ArticleTitleCO2 fluxes over plant canopies and solar radiation: A review Adv Ecol Res 26 1–68 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0065-2504(08)60063-X
OA Semikhatova TV Gerasimenko TI Ivanova (1992) Photosynthesis, respiration, and growth of plants in the Soviet Arctic FS Chapin SuffixIII RL Jefferies JF Reynolds GR Shaver J Svoboda (Eds) Arctic ecosystems in a changing climate Academic Press San Diego 169–192
GR Shaver J Kummerow (1992) Phenology, resource allocation, and growth of Arctic vascular plants FS Chapin SuffixIII RL Jefferies JF Reynolds GR Shaver J Svoboda (Eds) Arctic ecosystems in a changing climate Academic Press San Diego 193–211
H Soegaard C Nordstroem (1999) ArticleTitleCarbon dioxide exchange in a high-arctic fen estimated by eddy covariance measurements and modelling Global Change Biology 5 547–562 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2486.1999.00250.x
H Soegaard C Nordstroem T Friborg BU Hansen TR Christensen C Bay (2000) ArticleTitleTrace gas exchange in a high-arctic valley 3. Integrating and scaling CO2 fluxes from canopy to landscape using flux data, footprint modeling, and remote sensing Global Biogeochemical Cycles 14 725–744 Occurrence Handle10.1029/1999GB001137
M Stieglitz A Giblin J Hobbie M Williams G Kling (2000) ArticleTitleSimulating the effects of climate change and climate variability on carbon dynamics in Arctic tundra Global Biogeochemical Cycles 14 1123–1136 Occurrence Handle10.1029/1999GB001214
MT van Wijk M Williams JA Laundre GR Shaver (2003) ArticleTitleInterannual variability of plant phenology in tussock tundra: modelling interactions of plant productivity, plant phenology, snowmelt and soil thaw Global Change Biology 9 743–758 Occurrence Handle10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00625.x
GL Vourlitis WC Oechel (1997) ArticleTitleLandscape-scale CO2, H2O vapour and energy flux of moist-wet coastal tundra ecosystems over two growing seasons J Ecology 85 575–590 Occurrence Handle10.2307/2960529
GL Vourlitis WC Oechel (1999) ArticleTitleEddy covariance measurements of CO2 and energy fluxes of an Alaskan tussock tundra ecosystem Ecology 80 686–701
EK Webb GI Pearman R Leuning (1980) ArticleTitleCorrection of flux measurements for density effects due to heat and water-vapor transfer Quart J Roy Meteor Soc 106 85–100 Occurrence Handle10.1256/smsqj.44706
GJ Whiting DS Bartlett SM Fan PS Bakwin SC Wofsy (1992) ArticleTitleBiosphere atmosphere CO2 exchange in Tundra ecosystems – community characteristics and relationships with multispectral surface reflectance J Geophys Res-Atmos 97 16671–16680
SA Zimov SP Davidov YV Voropaev SF Prosiannikov IP Semiletov MC Chapin FS Chapin (1996) ArticleTitleSiberian CO2 efflux in winter as a CO2 source and cause of seasonality in atmospheric CO2 Climatic Change 33 111–120 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00140516
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Groendahl, L., Friborg, T. & Soegaard, H. Temperature and snow-melt controls on interannual variability in carbon exchange in the high Arctic. Theor. Appl. Climatol. 88, 111–125 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-005-0228-y
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-005-0228-y