Stand-level drivers most important in determining boreal forest response to climate change

Spatial distribution and species composition of the boreal forest are expected to change under predicted climate change scenarios. Current research indicates that water limitations control the southern boundary of the central Canadian boreal forest and temperature limitations control the northern boundary. As part of Boreal Ecosystem - Atmosphere Study (BOREAS), we examined this idea by comparing annual variation in tree-ring widths and carbon isotope ratios ( delta 13C) of tree-ring cellulose with annual climatic parameters in the northern and southern boreal forest. Contrary to expectations, climate correlations with ring widths at the northern and southern sites were similar in black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP). Annual growth was favored by cooler and wetter conditions. For jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), increased temperature and spring precipitation favored annual growth at both sites. In the north, annual growth was negatively correlated with winter precipitation. The delta 13C - climate correlations in Pinus banksiana followed current distribution theories. In the south, potential evapotranspiration explained significant annual delta 13C variation, whereas in the north, winter and growing season precipitation influenced annual delta 13C variations. Our data support the concept that moisture limits the southern range of Pinus banksiana and cold soil temperatures limit the northern extent. However, colder, wetter conditions favored growth of Picea mariana throughout its range. These observations strengthen the concept that species respond individually to climate change, not as a cohesive biome.

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Predicting Tree Growth Dynamics of Boreal Forest in Response to Climate Change

Landscape Ecology in Forest Management and Conservation ◽

10.1007/978-3-642-12754-0_8 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 176-205 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Zewei Miao ◽

Chao Li

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Boreal Forest ◽

Tree Growth ◽

Growth Dynamics

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Fire activity and its influence on Aerosol Optical Depth and Green-House Gases over PEEX area for the last two decades

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-13124 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Larisa Sogacheva ◽

Anu-Maija Sundström ◽

Timo H. Virtanen ◽

Antti Arola ◽

Tuukka Petäjä ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Remote Sensing ◽

Boreal Forest ◽

Atmospheric Composition ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Individual Species ◽

Modeling Tools ◽

Fire Emissions ◽

Burned Areas ◽

Fire Activity

The Pan-Eurasian Experiment Program (PEEX) is an interdisciplinary scientific program bringing together ground-based in situ and remote sensing observations, satellite measurements and modeling tools aiming to improve the understanding of land-water-atmosphere interactions, feedback mechanisms and their effects on the ecosystem, climate and society in northern Eurasia, Russia and China. In a view of the large area covering thousands of kilometres, large gaps will remain where no or little ground-based observational information will be available. The gap can partly be filled by satellite remote sensing of relevant parameters as regards atmospheric composition.Biomass burning is a violent source of atmospheric pollutants. Fires and corresponding emissions to the atmosphere dramatically change the atmospheric composition in case of long-lasting fire events, which might cover extended areas. In the burned areas, CO2 exchange, as well as emissions of different compounds are getting to higher levels, which might contribute to climate change by changing the radiative budget through the aerosol-cloud interaction and cloud formation. In the boreal forest, after CO2, CO and CH4, the largest emission factors for individual species were formaldehyde, followed by methanol and NO2 (Simpson et al., ACP, 2011). The emitted long-life components, e.g., black carbon, might further be transported to the distant areas and measured at the surface far from the burned areas.In the boreal forest region, fires are very common, very large and produce a lot of smoke. Boreal areas&#160; have been burning regularly for thousands of years and is adapted to fires, which happen most often between May and October. In boreal ecosystems, future increases in air temperature may lengthen the fire season and increase the probability of fires, leading some to hypothesize a positive feedback between warming, fire activity, carbon loss, and future climate change (Kasischke et al., 2000).&#160;&#160;During the last few decades, several burning episodes have been observed over PEEX area by satellites (as fire counts), specifically over Siberia and central Russia.&#160;The following information available from satellites will be utilized to reveal a connection between Fire activity and atmospheric composition for the period 2002-2020 over the PEEX area:<ul><li>- Fire count, FRP and burned areas from MODIS</li> <li>- Absorbing Aerosol Index (AAI), multi-instrument (GOME-2, OMI, TOMS) product</li> <li>- CO from MOPPIT</li> <li>- HCHO and NO2 from OMI</li> </ul>Monthly temperature and humidity fields from ERA5 re-analysis will be also utilized to reveal if a connection exist between climate variables and occurrence and intensity of the forest fires.Kasischke, B. J. Stocks: Fire, Climate Change, and Carbon Cycling in the Boreal Forest. M. M. Cadwellet al.,Eds., Ecological Studies (Springer, New York, 2000)Simpson, I. J., Akagi, S. K., Barletta, B., Blake, N. J., Choi, Y., Diskin, G. S., Fried, A., Fuelberg, H. E., Meinardi, S., Rowland, F. S., Vay, S. A., Weinheimer, A. J., Wennberg, P. O., Wiebring, P., Wisthaler, A., Yang, M., Yokelson, R. J., and Blake, D. R.: Boreal forest fire emissions in fresh Canadian smoke plumes: C1-C10 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), CO2, CO, NO2, NO, HCN and CH3CN, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 6445&#8211;6463, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-6445-2011, 2011.&#160;

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Agriculture in the Boreal Forest: Understanding the Impact of Land Use Change on Soil Carbon for Developing Sustainable Community Food Systems

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6071 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

David Bysouth ◽

Merritt Turetsky ◽

Andrew Spring

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Boreal Forest ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Food Systems ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Carbon Stocks ◽

Soil Carbon Stocks ◽

Carbon Losses

Climate change is causing rapid warming at northern high latitudes and disproportionately affecting ecosystem services that northern communities rely upon. In Canada&#8217;s Northwest Territories (NWT), climate change is impacting the access and availability of traditional foods that are critical for community health and well-being. With climate change potentially expanding the envelope of suitable agricultural land northward, many communities in the NWT are evaluating including agriculture in their food systems. However, the conversion of boreal forest to agriculture may degrade the carbon rich soils that characterize the region, resulting in large carbon losses to the atmosphere and the depletion of existing ecosystem services associated with the accumulation of soil organic matter. Here, we first summarize the results of 35 publications that address land use change from boreal forest to agriculture, with the goal of understanding the magnitude and drivers of carbon stock changes with time-since-land use change. Results from the literature synthesis show that conversion of boreal forest to agriculture can result in up to ~57% of existing soil carbon stocks being lost 30 years after land use change occurs. In addition, a three-way interaction with soil carbon, pH and time-since-land use change is observed where soils become more basic with increasing time-since-land use change, coinciding with declines in soil carbon stocks. This relationship is important when looking at the types of crops communities are interested in growing and the type of agriculture associated with cultivating these crops. Partnered communities have identified crops such as berry bushes, root vegetables, potatoes and corn as crops they are interested in growing. As berry bushes grow in acidic conditions and the other mentioned crops grow in more neutral conditions, site selection and management practices associated with growing these crops in appropriate pH environments will be important for managing soil carbon in new agricultural systems in the NWT. Secondly, we also present community scale soil data assessing variation in soil carbon stocks in relation to potential soil fertility metrics targeted to community identified crops of interest for two communities in the NWT.&#160; We collected 192 soil cores from two communities to determine carbon stocks along gradients of potential agriculture suitability. Our field soil carbon measurements in collaboration with the partnered NWT communities show that land use conversions associated with agricultural development could translate to carbon losses ranging from 2.7-11.4 kg C/m2 depending on the type of soil, agricultural suitability class, and type of land use change associated with cultivation. These results highlight the importance of managing soil carbon in northern agricultural systems and can be used to emphasize the need for new community scale data relating to agricultural land use change in boreal soils. Through the collection of this data, we hope to provide northern communities with a more robust, community scale product that will allow them to make informed land use decisions relating to the cultivation of crops and the minimization of soil carbon losses while maintaining the culturally important traditional food system.

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