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1. HIGH LATTITUDE SOILS:INDICATORS OF GLOBAL CHANGE ? Taylor Mills
Zachary Davies
2. STUDY SITES McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica Arctic, Brooks Range, Alaska
3. MCMURDO FACTS Located at 77°30'S 163°00'E
Largest ice free area of Antarctica
Harshest ecosystem on earth
Lowest species diversity on earth
Primarily dominated by Nematodes and algae
4. GLOBAL COOLING…?
Mcmurdo dry valleys have been cooling over the past 50 years
Cooler temperatures lead to dryer soil
Less melt water = fewer streams
Soil water consistently frozen
5. PRESERVING SOIL HYDROLOGY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS Past climate influences current soil characteristics
Colder drier = less PP = less organic matter deposits
Organic matter is energy source for current soil organisms
6. PRESERVING SOIL HYDROLOGY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS Cycle of lake expansion and desiccation recharges soil OM
Little to no PP in the soil itself
Deposition of organic matter is either aeolian or lake deposits
7. SUMMARY OF COOLING EFFECT ON MCMURDO DRY LAKES
Reduces amount of liquid water
Lowers soil moisture
Prevents formation of lakes and ponds
Greatly reduces inputs of organic matter into the soil
Decreases soil organism diversity and richness
8. Arctic LTER Implications of Global Warming on the Tussock tundra
North Slope of the Brooks range in Alaska
9. Why Study Tundra Ecosystem? Global warming is predicted to be most pronounced at high
Latitudes
One-third of the global soil carbon pool is stored in northern latitudes
Changes in carbon storage in these areas could have a large effect on global warming
10. Effects of Global Warming on Arctic Terrestrial Ecosystem Increase plant litter and SOM
Change in soil Carbon storage
Loss of Mycorrhizal
Change in Soil Acidity
Positive feedback on Global Warming?
11. Plant Litter Temperatures are expected to increase 1-4 degrees in Arctic ecosystems
Bio mass Production
-increase of plant litter and SOM
-increased C stored aboveground by stimulating plant productivity and by shifting species composition from slow-growing species to more productive shrubs that accumulate C in long-lived woody biomass
12. -litter from shrubs decomposes more slowly than the graminoid litter they replace, so conversion to shrub tundra was thought to slow decomposition and increase ecosystem C accumulation Decomposition
Increased nutrient availability stimulated the decomposition of old litter in deep soil layers, leading to loss via mineralization and leaching of dissolved organic C
The rate of decomposition was greater than the increase in production
Net loss of 2,000g C m-2 from
the ecosystem
13. Increased nutrients in upper soil Horizons Arctic ecosystem extremely nutrient limited
Most Vascular plant species are mycorrhizal
Increase of nutrients = decrease mycorrhizas
14. Soil Acidity Arctic region dominated by Moist Arctic Tundra including permafrost
High soil moisture leaches cations resulting in high soil acidity
The increase of organic matter will lead to greater soil acidity
-OM forms soluble complexes with non-acid nutrient cations which can than be leached
- OM source of H+ ions as OM contains numerous acid functional groups from which these Ions can dissociate
Further reduction of Cation Exchange Capacity
15. Summary Global Warming Effects
-Increase in Biomass and SOM
-Greater increase in decomposition than production leading to decrease Carbon in soil
Loss of Symbiotic relationship between mycorrhizal fungi and vascular plant roots
Increase of acidity
16. Hmmmmm? Will loss of Carbon stores further global warming creating a positive feedback mechanism?
What will happen to terrestrial vegetation with the loss of mycorrhizal fungi and increasing soil acidity?
17. Sources Urcelay C, Bret-Harte MS, Diaz S, et al.Mycorrhizal colonization mediated by species interactions in arctic tundra OECOLOGIA 137 (3): 399-404 NOV 2003
Mack MC, Schuur EAG, Bret-Harte MS, et al.Ecosystem carbon storage in arctic tundra reduced by long-term nutrient fertilization NATURE 431 (7007): 440-443 SEP 23 2004
Adams G. A. and Wall D. H. (2000) Biodiversity above and below the surface of soils and sediments: linkages and implications for global change, Bioscience, 50: 1043-1048.
Wolters V., Silver W. L., Bignell D. E., Coleman D. C., Lavelle P., van der Putten W., deRuiter P. C., Rusek J., Wall D. H., Wardle D. A., Brussaard L., Dangerfield J.M., Brown V. K., Giller K. E., Hooper D. U., Sala O. E., Tiedje J. M., and vanVeen J. A. (2000) Global change effects on above and below ground biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems: interactions and implications for ecosystem functioning , Bioscience, 50: 1089-1099.
Burkins, M.B., R.A. Virginia, C.P. Chamberlain and D.H. Wall (2000) The Origin of Soil Organic Matter in Taylor Valley, Antarctica: A Legacy of Climate Change, Ecology, 81: 2377-2391.