Review
Environmental Sciences
Adrianna C. Foster, Jonathan A. Wang, Gerald Frost, Scott J. Davidson, Elizabeth Hoy, Kevin W. Turner, Oliver Sonnentag, Howard Epstein, Logan T. Berner, Amanda H. Armstrong, Mary Kang, Brendan M. Rogers, Elizabeth Campbell, Kimberley R. Miner, Kathleen M. Orndahl, Laura L. Bourgeau-Chavez, David A. Lutz, Nancy French, Dong Chen, Jinyang Du, Tatiana A. Shestakova, Jacquelyn K. Shuman, Ken Tape, Anna-Maria Virkkala, Christopher Potter, Scott Goetz
Summary: Ecosystems in the North American Arctic-Boreal Zone (ABZ) are experiencing increasing disturbances due to climate warming and human activity. However, many of these disturbances are understudied, leading to uncertainty in their impacts on vegetation dynamics and interactions between disturbance types. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the current knowledge of ABZ disturbances and their impacts, as well as identifying gaps in knowledge and priorities for future research.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Katherine D. Dearborn, Jennifer L. Baltzer
Summary: The study found that in boreal peatlands, despite the ongoing decline of black spruce (the dominant species), NDVI trends were predominantly positive. The magnitude of these trends correlated positively with black spruce growth trends, but was also governed to a large extent by tree mortality and recruitment.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Simone M. Stuenzi, Julia Boike, Anne Gaedeke, Ulrike Herzschuh, Stefan Kruse, Luidmila A. Pestryakova, Sebastian Westermann, Moritz Langer
Summary: Forest density and composition have a significant impact on the thermal and hydrological state of underlying permafrost, leading to changes in ground surface temperatures and active layer thickness. This study highlights the importance of considering forest dynamics in predicting permafrost persistence and ecosystem shifts under future warming scenarios.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Anna-Maria Virkkala, Susan M. Natali, Brendan M. Rogers, Jennifer D. Watts, Kathleen Savage, Sara June Connon, Marguerite Mauritz, Edward A. G. Schuur, Darcy Peter, Christina Minions, Julia Nojeim, Roisin Commane, Craig A. Emmerton, Mathias Goeckede, Manuel Helbig, David Holl, Hiroki Iwata, Hideki Kobayashi, Pasi Kolari, Efren Lopez-Blanco, Maija E. Marushchak, Mikhail Mastepanov, Lutz Merbold, Frans-Jan W. Parmentier, Matthias Peichl, Torsten Sachs, Oliver Sonnentag, Masahito Ueyama, Carolina Voigt, Mika Aurela, Julia Boike, Gerardo Celis, Namyi Chae, Torben R. Christensen, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte, Sigrid Dengel, Han Dolman, Colin W. Edgar, Bo Elberling, Eugenie Euskirchen, Achim Grelle, Juha Hatakka, Elyn Humphreys, Jarvi Jarveoja, Ayumi Kotani, Lars Kutzbach, Tuomas Laurila, Annalea Lohila, Ivan Mammarella, Yojiro Matsuura, Gesa Meyer, Mats B. Nilsson, Steven F. Oberbauer, Sang-Jong Park, Roman Petrov, Anatoly S. Prokushkin, Christopher Schulze, Vincent L. St Louis, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Juha-Pekka Tuovinen, William Quinton, Andrej Varlagin, Donatella Zona, Viacheslav I. Zyryanov
Summary: This study developed a standardized monthly database of Arctic-boreal CO2 fluxes (ABCflux) that aggregates in situ measurements of terrestrial net ecosystem CO2 exchange and its derived partitioned component fluxes. The database includes 244 sites and 6309 monthly observations, providing valuable data for understanding the regional and temporal variability in CO2 fluxes.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Duncan N. L. Menge, Sian Kou-Giesbrecht, Benton N. Taylor, Palani R. Akana, Ayanna Butler, K. A. Carreras Pereira, Savannah S. Cooley, Vanessa M. Lau, Emma L. Lauterbach
Summary: Phosphorus limits productivity in ecosystems and has the potential to constrain the global carbon sink. How climate change and rising CO2 affect phosphorus cycling is an important area of study, with some known effects and patterns but many unknowns.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Viacheslav I. Kharuk, Evgenii I. Ponomarev, Galina A. Ivanova, Maria L. Dvinskaya, Sean C. P. Coogan, Mike D. Flannigan
Summary: Most wildfires in Siberia occur in larch forests, with warming leading to an increase in their frequency and area. Larch and Scots pine have adapted to periodic forest fires, contributing to their competitive advantage in the taiga.
Article
Forestry
Enzai Du, Yang Tang
Summary: Climate change has profound impacts on boreal forests worldwide. Trees in the southern boreal forest and the temperate-boreal forest ecotone show distinct responses to climate change. The growth of trees in northeast China was found to be significantly affected by inter-annual climate variations, with temperature and precipitation playing important roles at both the boreal and temperate-boreal forest ecotone.
Article
Environmental Studies
Vera Kuklina, Oleg Sizov, Elena Rasputina, Irina Bilichenko, Natalia Krasnoshtanova, Viktor Bogdanov, Andrey N. Petrov
Summary: This study focuses on permafrost peatland fires in the Siberian subarctic region and examines their dynamics through field studies and remote sensing data analysis. It reveals the prevalence and unique characteristics of these fires, such as longer fire risk periods and impacts on communities and wildlife. The study also highlights the limited capacity of satellite imagery to accurately capture changing wildfire activity in permafrost peatlands, which has significant implications for global climate.
Article
Soil Science
Julia Wagner, Victoria Martin, Niek J. Speetjens, Willeke A'Campo, Luca Durstewitz, Rachele Lodi, Michael Fritz, George Tanski, Jorien E. Vonk, Andreas Richter, Annett Bartsch, Hugues Lantuit, Gustaf Hugelius
Summary: Soil organic carbon (SOC) in arctic coastal tundra is vulnerable to climate change, and its distribution and stability are influenced by factors such as landscape history and ground ice content.
Article
Environmental Studies
Erika Gomoryova, Viliam Pichler, Jan Merganic, Peter Fleischer, Marian Homolak
Summary: The study aimed to investigate changes in soil properties along elevational gradients in a less accessible and explored forest-tundra ecotone in Central Siberia. The results showed that slope angle had a pronounced effect on the pattern of soil properties. In locations with a gentle slope, slower pedogenic processes were observed, while in locations with a steeper slope, soil properties were better differentiated along the elevational gradient.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Heather Kropp, Michael M. Loranty, Susan M. Natali, Alexander L. Kholodov, Adrian Rocha, Isla Myers-Smith, Benjamin W. Abbot, Jakob Abermann, Elena Blanc-Betes, Daan Blok, Gesche Blume-Werry, Julia Boike, Amy L. Breen, Sean M. P. Cahoon, Casper T. Christiansen, Thomas A. Douglas, Howard E. Epstein, Gerald Frost, Mathias Goeckede, Toke T. Hoye, Steven D. Mamet, Jonathan A. O'Donnell, David Olefeldt, Gareth K. Phoenix, Verity G. Salmon, A. Britta K. Sannel, Sharon L. Smith, Oliver Sonnentag, Lydia Smith Vaughn, Mathew Williams, Bo Elberling, Laura Gough, Jan Hjort, Peter M. Lafleur, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Monique M. P. D. Heijmans, Elyn R. Humphreys, Hiroki Iwata, Benjamin M. Jones, M. Torre Jorgenson, Inge Gruenberg, Yongwon Kim, James Laundre, Marguerite Mauritz, Anders Michelsen, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Ken D. Tape, Masahito Ueyama, Bang-Yong Lee, Kirsty Langley, Magnus Lund
Summary: Soils are warming in the Arctic and Boreal region as temperature rises, with tall shrubs and trees expanding in the tundra. Ecosystems with tall-statured shrubs and trees have warmer shallow soils compared to short-statured tundra vegetation, indicating that ground thermal regimes in the cold season are critical for predicting soil warming. The expansion of tall shrubs and trees into tundra regions can amplify shallow soil warming and increase potential for increased seasonal thaw depth, soil carbon cycling rates, carbon dioxide loss, and permafrost thaw.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Thomas A. Douglas, Caiyun Zhang
Summary: The seasonal snowpack in the Arctic and boreal regions plays a critical role in hydrological and ecological processes. Climate warming has led to changes in snow depth, impacting the relationship between vegetation and near-surface permafrost. By combining remote sensing methods with machine learning, the study characterizes the relationships between ecotype and snow depth, with support vector machine showing slightly stronger correlations.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yang Tang, Enzai Du, Hongbo Guo, Yang Wang, Josep Penuelas, Peter B. Reich
Summary: A field investigation in the northern Greater Khingan Mountains of China found that Mongolian oak has rapidly migrated into southern boreal forest in response to significant climatic warming. The migration rate of Mongolian oak is higher than that of other temperate tree species and the rates observed at boreal-tundra ecotones and alpine treelines. Factors such as nutrient utilization and thermal niche differences may have played a role in facilitating the migration of Mongolian oak towards boreal forest.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yunyun Li, Hongyan Liu, Xinrong Zhu, Yongyu Yue, Jiaxin Xue, Liang Shi
Summary: The study found that forests in different topographies showed varied responses to climate change. Slope forests exhibited positive correlations with increases in temperature and precipitation, while wetland forests responded negatively to temperature. Additionally, the forests in different topographies had different responses to precipitation.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Vera Kuklina, Irina Bilichenko, Viktor Bogdanov, Dmitrii Kobylkin, Andrey N. Petrov, Nikolay Shiklomanov
Summary: Informal roads in Siberian boreal forests have significant and multifaceted effects on social-ecological systems and landscape sustainability, with native forests being disturbed by cutting, logging, and fires proliferated from the roads. Valley landscapes, where roads are prevalent, are the most vulnerable to environmental degradation, especially in wetlands with permafrost occurrences. The impact of informal roads also extends to increased mobilities of local communities and outsiders, affecting subsistence activities and mobility across different landscapes.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi, Heidi Steltzer, Patrick F. Sullivan, Aliza Segal, Amanda M. Koltz, Carolyn Livensperger, Joshua P. Schimel, Michael N. Weintraub
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2019)
Article
Plant Sciences
Colin T. Maher, Cara R. Nelson, Andrew J. Larson
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Anna Terskaia, Roman J. Dial, Patrick F. Sullivan
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Patrick F. Sullivan, Madeline C. Stokes, Cameron K. McMillan, Michael N. Weintraub
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Colin T. Maher, Constance Millar, David L. R. Affleck, Robert E. Keane, Anna Sala, Claudine Tobalske, Andrew J. Larson, Cara R. Nelson
Summary: Warming-induced mountain pine beetle outbreaks have caused extensive mortality of whitebark pine, but the krummholz growth forms in alpine treeline ecotones may serve as refugia due to their ability to escape MPB attacks. However, the lower reproduction rates within these refugia suggest potential long-term challenges for the species.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Agata Buchwal, Patrick F. Sullivan, Marc Macias-Fauria, Eric Post, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Julienne C. Stroeve, Daan Blok, Ken D. Tape, Bruce C. Forbes, Pascale Ropars, Esther Levesque, Bo Elberling, Sandra Angers-Blondin, Joseph S. Boyle, Stephane Boudreau, Noemie Boulanger-Lapointe, Cassandra Gamm, Martin Hallinger, Grzegorz Rachlewicz, Amanda Young, Pentti Zetterberg, Jeffrey M. Welker
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eric Post, Sean M. P. Cahoon, Jeffrey T. Kerby, Christian Pedersen, Patrick F. Sullivan
Summary: A major challenge in predicting species' distributional responses to climate change involves understanding interactions between abiotic and biotic factors in structuring ecological communities. Recent theory proposes a resolution to the dichotomy of potentially competing species covarying positively at large scales but negatively at local scales, but empirical tests have been behind such developments. This study provides empirical support for theoretical solutions to this ecological puzzle, demonstrating the roles of both abiotic and biotic factors in the covariation of species at different scales.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Patrick F. Sullivan, Annalis H. Brownlee, Sarah B. Z. Ellison, Sean M. P. Cahoon
Summary: Recent studies have shown that moisture limitation is causing growth declines and mortality in black spruce and white spruce in the North American boreal forest. Additionally, severe wildfires are leading to a shift from spruce forests to forests dominated by paper birch and trembling aspen. Despite paper birch's potential advantage in mild drought conditions, it may be more sensitive to severe drought compared to white spruce.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Sean M. P. Cahoon, Patrick F. Sullivan, Andrew N. Gray
Summary: Boreal forest soils in Alaska contain large carbon stocks that may be affected by climate change and disturbance, which could potentially contribute to rising atmospheric CO2 concentration. The study examines the factors influencing soil and live tree carbon stocks across boreal Alaska and emphasizes the importance of wildfire, landscape position, and forest type in shaping future carbon stocks in the region.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Roman J. Dial, Colin T. Maher, Rebecca E. Hewitt, Patrick F. Sullivan
Summary: Through studying a population of white spruce in the Arctic region, it has been discovered that they are expanding at unprecedented rates in areas far from established treelines. This expansion is facilitated by surpassing temperature thresholds, winter winds for long-distance dispersal, deeper snowpack, and increased soil nutrient availability. These observations provide important insights for forecast modeling and understanding the conversion of biomes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
R. Gus Jespersen, M. Anderson-Smith, P. F. Sullivan, R. J. Dial, J. M. Welker
Summary: The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is critical for understanding change in the Arctic tundra ecosystems. Research shows that NDVI can accurately predict light-saturated photosynthesis, respiration, and net carbon exchange. The NDVI is primarily driven by the biochemical properties of canopy leaves and deciduous shrubs have the highest NDVI compared to other plant functional types.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eric Post, Elina Kaarlejarvi, Marc Macias-Fauria, David A. Watts, Pernille Sporon Boving, Sean M. P. Cahoon, R. Conor Higgins, Christian John, Jeffrey T. Kerby, Christian Pedersen, Mason Post, Patrick F. Sullivan
Summary: Biodiversity is declining globally, including in the Arctic tundra where a 15-year experiment showed a decline in diversity of plants, fungi, and lichens. However, the decline was slower in the presence of large herbivores, which has implications for efforts to mitigate the impact of climate warming on tundra diversity.