Global warming is affecting us and our planet at large. But little did we know about its impact on different regions around the world. A global team of researchers used open-top chambers (OTCs) to stimulate warming to reveal the effects of climate warming on tundra sites.
The dynamics of tundra environments are being affected by the warming climate. A recent study highlights that these shifts are making these treeless regions release trapped carbon.
Lead author of the study, Sybryn Maes of Umeå University said, “We knew from earlier studies that we were likely to find an increase in respiration with warming, but we found a remarkable increase—nearly four times greater than previously estimated, though it varied with time and location.”
By projecting the rise in respiration across the whole tundra region, the study gives a wide outlook on the Arctic and Alpine regions. It provides detailed information about the varying responses different areas have to global warming.
Professor Matti Kummu of Aalto University says, “We see that some areas, particularly parts of Siberia and Canada, exhibit greater sensitivity to warming.”
“We anticipate an increase in respiration across the whole Arctic and alpine tundra, but more in situ data, particularly on the local soil conditions, is key to addressing the outstanding uncertainties and refining our predictions,” he further added.
Objective
It’s important to understand how ecosystems react to climate change and how they affect the climate itself. This helps in getting an apt picture of how our world will change. These new findings are the pivotal baseline for better climate models. Researchers aim to make them more refined by studying how the experimental sites change over time. They also want to add new sites to the study.
Associate Professor Ellen Dorrepaal of Umeå University says, “Our work represents the first assessment of ecosystem respiration response to experimental warming across such a broad environmental gradient in the tundra, incorporating a comprehensive set of environmental drivers.”
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Highlights: Study on Effects of Climate Warming on Tundra Sites
- A team consisting of 70 scientists from different countries used OTCs (open-top chambers) to mimic the warming effects of warming on 28 tundra sites worldwide.
- The OTCs serve as small greenhouses. They block wind and trap heat to create local warmth.
- These experiments increased the air temperature by 1.4 degrees Celcius and soil temperature by 0.4 degrees.
- Additionally, it also caused a 1.6% reduction in soil moisture.
- All these changes led to a 30% increase in ecosystem respiration during the growing season. This leads to more carbon release as there was higher metabolic activity in soil and plants.
- The rise in ecosystem respiration changed on the basis of local soil conditions like pH and nitrogen levels.
- Because of these soil differences and other factors, different areas release more carbon than others.
Conclusion
These effects of climate warming on tundra sites persisted for nearly 25 years and this finding was never shown in earlier studies. Tundras are carbon sinks but these changes can transform them into carbon sources. All this will heighten the effects of climate change.
To create better climate models, it becomes essential to understand the connection between respiration and soil conditions in response to warming.
Source: Understanding climate warming impacts on carbon release from the tundra