Responses of CO2 flux components of Alaskan Coastal Plain tundra to shifts in water table

[1] The Arctic stores close to 14% of the global soil carbon, most of which is in a poorly decomposed state as a result of water-saturated soils and low temperatures. Climate change is expected to increase soil temperature, affecting soil moisture and the carbon storage and sink potential of many Arctic ecosystems. Additionally, increased temperatures can increase thermokarst erosion and flooding in some areas. Our goal was to determine the effects that water table shifts would have on the CO2 sink potential of the Alaskan Coastal Plain tundra. To evaluate the effects of different water regimes, we used a large hydrological manipulation at Barrow, Alaska, where we maintained flooded, drained, and intermediate water levels in a naturally drained thaw lake basin over a period of three seasons: one pretreatment (2006) and two treatment (2007–2008) seasons. To assess CO2 flux components, we used 24 h chamber-based measurements done on a weekly basis. Increased water table strongly lowered ecosystem respiration (ER) by reducing soil oxygen availability. Flooding decreased gross primary productivity (GPP), most likely by submerging mosses and graminoid photosynthetic leaf area. A decrease in water table increased GPP and ER; however, the increase in root and microbial activity was greater than the increase in photosynthesis, negatively affecting net ecosystem exchange. In the short term, ER is the CO2 flux component that responds most strongly to changes in water availability. Our results suggest that drying of the Alaskan Coastal Plain tundra in the short term could double ER rates, shifting the historic role of some Arctic ecosystems from a sink to a source of CO2.

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