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Kirdyanov AV, Saurer M, Arzac A, Knorre AA, Prokushkin AS, Churakova Sidorova OV, Arosio T, Bebchuk T, Siegwolf R, Büntgen U. Thawing permafrost can mitigate warming-induced drought stress in boreal forest trees. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:168858. [PMID: 38030001 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Perennially frozen soil, also known as permafrost, is important for the functioning and productivity of most of the boreal forest, the world's largest terrestrial biome. A better understanding of complex vegetation-permafrost interrelationships is needed to predict changes in local- to large-scale carbon, nutrient, and water cycle dynamics under future global warming. Here, we analyze tree-ring width and tree-ring stable isotope (C and O) measurements of Gmelin larch (Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr.) from six permafrost sites in the northern taiga of central Siberia. Our multi-parameter approach shows that changes in tree growth were predominantly controlled by the air and topsoil temperature and moisture content of the active soil and upper permafrost layers. The observed patterns range from strong growth limitations by early summer temperatures at higher elevations to significant growth controls by precipitation at warmer and well-drained lower-elevation sites. Enhanced radial tree growth is mainly found at sites with fast thawing upper mineral soil layers, and the comparison of tree-ring isotopes over five-year periods with different amounts of summer precipitation indicates that trees can prevent drought stress by accessing water from melted snow and seasonally frozen soil. Identifying the active soil and upper permafrost layers as central water resources for boreal tree growth during dry summers demonstrates the complexity of ecosystem responses to climatic changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander V Kirdyanov
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK; Sukachev Institute of Forest SB RAS, Federal Research Center 'Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS', 660036 Krasnoyarsk, Akademgorodok, Russian Federation; Siberian Federal University, 660041 Krasnoyarsk, Svobodnii 79, Russian Federation.
| | - Matthias Saurer
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Alberto Arzac
- Siberian Federal University, 660041 Krasnoyarsk, Svobodnii 79, Russian Federation
| | - Anastasia A Knorre
- Siberian Federal University, 660041 Krasnoyarsk, Svobodnii 79, Russian Federation; National Park "Krasnoyarsk Stolby", Krasnoyarsk 660006, Russian Federation
| | - Anatoly S Prokushkin
- Sukachev Institute of Forest SB RAS, Federal Research Center 'Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS', 660036 Krasnoyarsk, Akademgorodok, Russian Federation; Siberian Federal University, 660041 Krasnoyarsk, Svobodnii 79, Russian Federation
| | - Olga V Churakova Sidorova
- Siberian Federal University, 660041 Krasnoyarsk, Svobodnii 79, Russian Federation; Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Tito Arosio
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK
| | - Tatiana Bebchuk
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK
| | - Rolf Siegwolf
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Ulf Büntgen
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EN, UK; Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, CH-8903 Birmensdorf, Switzerland; Department of Geography, Masaryk University, 61137 Brno, Czech Republic; Global Change Research Centre, 61300 Brno, Czech Republic
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