Permafrost degradation and soil erosion as drivers of greenhouse gas emissions from tundra ponds
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15545321 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vilmantas Préskienis (0000-0002-8176-2263, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, corresponding author), Daniel Fortier (0000-0003-0908-6157, Université de Montréal), Peter Douglas (0000-0001-8987-6209), Peter M J Douglas (0000-0002-4282-6615, McGill University), Milla Rautio (0000-0002-2375-9082, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi), Isabelle Laurion (0000-0001-8694-3330, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 014072-014072 |
| Publication date | 2023-12-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/ad1433 |
| OpenAlex | W4389540865 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 53 |
Climate change poses a serious threat to permafrost integrity, with expected warmer winters and increased precipitation, both raising permafrost temperatures and active layer thickness. Under ice-rich conditions, this can lead to increased thermokarst activity and a consequential transfer of soil organic matter to tundra ponds. Although these ponds are known as hotspots for CO 2 and CH 4 emissions, the dominant carbon sources for the production of greenhouse gases (GHGs) are still poorly studied, leading to uncertainty about their positive feedback to climate warming. This study investigates the potential for lateral thermo-erosion to cause increased GHG emissions from small and shallow tundra ponds found in Arctic ice-wedge polygonal landscapes. Detailed mapping of fine-scale erosive features revealed their strong impact on pond limnological characteristics. In addition to increasing organic matter inputs, providing carbon to heterotrophic microorganisms responsible for GHG production, thermokarst soil erosion also increases shore instability and water turbidity, limiting the establishment of aquatic vegetation—conditions that greatly increase GHG emissions from these aquatic systems. Ponds with more than 40% of the shoreline affected by lateral erosion experienced significantly higher rates of GHG emissions (∼1200 mmol CO 2 m −2 yr −1 and ∼250 mmol CH 4 m −2 yr −1 ) compared to ponds with no active shore erosion (∼30 mmol m −2 yr −1 for both GHG). Although most GHGs emitted as CO 2 and CH 4 had a modern radiocarbon signature, source apportionment models implied an increased importance of terrestrial carbon being emitted from ponds with erosive shorelines. If primary producers are unable to overcome the limitations associated with permafrost disturbances, this contribution of older carbon stocks may become more significant with rising permafrost temperatures
Arctic · Degradation (telecommunications · Erosion · Geomorphology · Geotechnical engineering · Greenhouse gas · Hydrology (agriculture · Permafrost · Soil loss · Tundra · Climate change and permafrost · Cryospheric studies and observations · Environmental Science · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Geology · Oceanography · Soil Science
Permafrost is warming at a global scale
Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback
Persistence of soil organic matter as an ecosystem property
Diverging pond dissolved organic matter characteristics yield similar CO 2 flux potentials in a disturbed High Arctic landscape
Potential feedback of thawing permafrost to the global climate system through methane emission
Arctic greening associated with lengthening growing seasons in Northern Alaska
Minor contribution of small thaw ponds to the pools of carbon and methane in the inland waters of the permafrost-affected part of the Western Siberian Lowland
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |