Influence of forest clear‐cutting on the thermal and hydrological regime of the active layer near Yakutsk, eastern Siberia

May to August were 44 and 69 MJ/m 2 in 1 year and 2 years after the clear-cutting, respectively) marked changes in the active layer conditions were limited only to the first thaw season. The correspondent differences in the active layer thickness between the sites were 16 and 14 cm in 2 years and 3 years, respectively. Further increases in the maximum thaw depth at the cutover site were inhibited by the thermal inertial effect of the larger amount of ice in the second spring after disturbance. This suggests a self-retention mechanism of the active layer thickness after forest disturbance in this continuous permafrost zone.

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