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Berner LT, Orndahl KM, Rose M, Tamstorf M, Arndal MF, Alexander HD, Humphreys ER, Loranty MM, Ludwig SM, Nyman J, Juutinen S, Aurela M, Happonen K, Mikola J, Mack MC, Vankoughnett MR, Iversen CM, Salmon VG, Yang D, Kumar J, Grogan P, Danby RK, Scott NA, Olofsson J, Siewert MB, Deschamps L, Lévesque E, Maire V, Morneault A, Gauthier G, Gignac C, Boudreau S, Gaspard A, Kholodov A, Bret-Harte MS, Greaves HE, Walker D, Gregory FM, Michelsen A, Kumpula T, Villoslada M, Ylänne H, Luoto M, Virtanen T, Forbes BC, Hölzel N, Epstein H, Heim RJ, Bunn A, Holmes RM, Hung JKY, Natali SM, Virkkala AM, Goetz SJ. The Arctic Plant Aboveground Biomass Synthesis Dataset. Sci Data 2024; 11:305. [PMID: 38509110 PMCID: PMC10954756 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03139-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Plant biomass is a fundamental ecosystem attribute that is sensitive to rapid climatic changes occurring in the Arctic. Nevertheless, measuring plant biomass in the Arctic is logistically challenging and resource intensive. Lack of accessible field data hinders efforts to understand the amount, composition, distribution, and changes in plant biomass in these northern ecosystems. Here, we present The Arctic plant aboveground biomass synthesis dataset, which includes field measurements of lichen, bryophyte, herb, shrub, and/or tree aboveground biomass (g m-2) on 2,327 sample plots from 636 field sites in seven countries. We created the synthesis dataset by assembling and harmonizing 32 individual datasets. Aboveground biomass was primarily quantified by harvesting sample plots during mid- to late-summer, though tree and often tall shrub biomass were quantified using surveys and allometric models. Each biomass measurement is associated with metadata including sample date, location, method, data source, and other information. This unique dataset can be leveraged to monitor, map, and model plant biomass across the rapidly warming Arctic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Logan T Berner
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA.
| | - Kathleen M Orndahl
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA
| | - Melissa Rose
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA
| | - Mikkel Tamstorf
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Marie F Arndal
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Heather D Alexander
- College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment, Auburn University, Auburn, USA
| | - Elyn R Humphreys
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
| | | | - Sarah M Ludwig
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, Palisades, USA
| | - Johanna Nyman
- Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
| | - Sari Juutinen
- Climate System Research, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mika Aurela
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Juha Mikola
- Bioeconomy and Environment Unit, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Michelle C Mack
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA
| | | | - Colleen M Iversen
- Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
| | - Verity G Salmon
- Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
- Environmental Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
| | - Dedi Yang
- Environmental Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
| | - Jitendra Kumar
- Environmental Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
| | - Paul Grogan
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
| | - Ryan K Danby
- Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
| | - Neal A Scott
- Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
| | - Johan Olofsson
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Matthias B Siewert
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Lucas Deschamps
- Département des sciences de l'environnement, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
| | - Esther Lévesque
- Département des sciences de l'environnement, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
| | - Vincent Maire
- Département des sciences de l'environnement, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
| | - Amélie Morneault
- Département des sciences de l'environnement, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
| | - Gilles Gauthier
- Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Department of Biology, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Charles Gignac
- Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Department of Plant Science, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Anna Gaspard
- Department of Biology, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | | | | | - Heather E Greaves
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA
| | - Donald Walker
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA
| | - Fiona M Gregory
- Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Anders Michelsen
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, København, Denmark
| | - Timo Kumpula
- Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
| | - Miguel Villoslada
- Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
- Institute of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Henni Ylänne
- School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
| | - Miska Luoto
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tarmo Virtanen
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Bruce C Forbes
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Howard Epstein
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
| | - Ramona J Heim
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Andrew Bunn
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Washington University, Bellingham, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Scott J Goetz
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA
- Bioeconomy and Environment Unit, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Helsinki, Finland
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Heim RJ, Heim W, Bültmann H, Kamp J, Rieker D, Yurtaev A, Hölzel N. Fire disturbance promotes biodiversity of plants, lichens and birds in the Siberian subarctic tundra. Glob Chang Biol 2022; 28:1048-1062. [PMID: 34706133 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Fire shapes the world's terrestrial ecosystems and has been influencing biodiversity patterns for millennia. Anthropogenic drivers alter fire regimes. Wildfires can amplify changes in the structure, biodiversity and functioning of the fast-warming tundra ecosystem. However, there is little evidence available, how these fires affect species diversity and community composition of tundra ecosystems over the long term. We studied long-term fire effects on community composition and diversity at different trophic levels of the food web in the subarctic tundra of Western Siberia. In a space-for-time approach we compared three large fire scars (>44, 28 and 12 years old) to unburnt controls. We found that diversity (measured as species richness, Shannon index and evenness) of vascular and non-vascular plants and birds was strongly affected by fire, with the greatest species richness of plants and birds for the intermediate-age fire scar (28 years). Species composition of plants and birds still differed from that of the control >44 years after fire. Increased deciduous shrub cover was related to species richness of all plants in a hump-shaped manner. The proportion of southern (taiga) bird species was highest in the oldest fire scar, which had the highest shrub cover. We conclude that tundra fires have long-term legacies with regard to species diversity and community composition. They may also increase landscape-scale species richness and facilitate range expansions of more southerly distributed species to the subarctic tundra ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramona J Heim
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Wieland Heim
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Helga Bültmann
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Johannes Kamp
- Department of Conservation Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Rieker
- Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Andrey Yurtaev
- Research Institute of Ecology and Natural Resources Management, Tyumen State University, Tyumen, Russia
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
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Heim RJ, Bucharova A, Brodt L, Kamp J, Rieker D, Soromotin AV, Yurtaev A, Hölzel N. Post-fire vegetation succession in the Siberian subarctic tundra over 45 years. Sci Total Environ 2021; 760:143425. [PMID: 33172629 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Wildfires are relatively rare in subarctic tundra ecosystems, but they can strongly change ecosystem properties. Short-term fire effects on subarctic tundra vegetation are well documented, but long-term vegetation recovery has been studied less. The frequency of tundra fires will increase with climate warming. Understanding the long-term effects of fire is necessary to predict future ecosystem changes. We used a space-for-time approach to assess vegetation recovery after fire over more than four decades. We studied soil and vegetation patterns on three large fire scars (>44, 28 and 12 years old) in dry, lichen-dominated forest tundra in Western Siberia. On 60 plots, we determined soil temperature and permafrost thaw depth, sampled vegetation and measured plant functional traits. We assessed trends in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to support the field-based results on vegetation recovery. Soil temperature, permafrost thaw depth and total vegetation cover had recovered to pre-fire levels after >44 years, as well as total vegetation cover. In contrast, after >44 years, functional groups had not recovered to the pre-fire state. Burnt areas had lower lichen and higher bryophyte and shrub cover. The dominating shrub species, Betula nana, exhibited a higher vitality (higher specific leaf area and plant height) on burnt compared with control plots, suggesting a fire legacy effect in shrub growth. Our results confirm patterns of shrub encroachment after fire that were detected before in other parts of the Arctic and Subarctic. In the so far poorly studied Western Siberian forest tundra we demonstrate for the first time, long-term fire-legacies on the functional composition of relatively dry shrub- and lichen-dominated vegetation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramona J Heim
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149 Münster, Germany.
| | - Anna Bucharova
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Leya Brodt
- Research Institute of Ecology and Natural Resources Management, Tyumen State University, 6 Volodarskogo Street, Tyumen, Russia
| | - Johannes Kamp
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149 Münster, Germany; Department of Conservation Biology, University of Göttingen, Bürgerstr. 50, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Rieker
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149 Münster, Germany; Institute of Ecology, Diversity and Evolution, Goethe University Frankfurt/Main, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Andrey V Soromotin
- Research Institute of Ecology and Natural Resources Management, Tyumen State University, 6 Volodarskogo Street, Tyumen, Russia
| | - Andrey Yurtaev
- Institute of Environmental and Agricultural Biology (X-BIO), Tyumen State University, 6 Volodarskogo Street, Tyumen, Russia
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
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Heim RJ, Heim W, Darman GF, Heinken T, Smirenski SM, Hölzel N. Litter removal through fire - A key process for wetland vegetation and ecosystem dynamics. Sci Total Environ 2021; 755:142659. [PMID: 33049535 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Fire is a major driver of global vegetation patterns. It strongly reduces litter and thus alters physical and chemical properties of the environment. Studies investigating the interplay of fire and litter are scarce, and wetland ecosystems are strongly under-represented in research focusing on litter dynamics. We present data on short-term effects of fires in floodplain wetlands along the Amur River in the Russian Far East, an area with a high fire recurrence rate. We analysed vegetation and plant growth patterns as well as soil temperature and nutrient concentrations on recently burnt and unburnt control plots. Directly after fire, litter was reduced by more than 50% on burnt plots. This effect was no longer visible 15 months after fire, probably due to the high productivity of the floodplain ecosystem. Litter was found to act as a key determinant in the net of direct and indirect fire effects, by influencing early plant growth patterns of herbs and grasses. Furthermore, litter removal through fire significantly increased plant species diversity and soil temperature. Contrary, N and P concentrations in living plant biomass of grasses and herbs decreased with decreasing litter cover. Combustion during burning seems to be responsible for the negative direct fire impacts on nutrient concentrations, which were found for N and Mg. Litter removal through fire can strongly affect diversity patterns, dominance structures, and nutrient cycling in wetlands. With increasing fire frequency in the course of global change, significant structural and compositional changes in herbaceous wetland vegetation must be anticipated and the studied ecosystem may shift to reinforced N-limitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramona J Heim
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149 Münster, Germany.
| | - Wieland Heim
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
| | - Galina F Darman
- Amur Branch of the Botanical Garden-Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2nd km of Ignatievskoe Road, Blagoveshchensk 675000, Amur Region, Russian Federation
| | - Thilo Heinken
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Maulbeerallee 3, 14469 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Sergei M Smirenski
- Muraviovka Park for Sustainable Land Use, P.O. Box 16, Blagoveshchensk 675000, Amur Region, Russian Federation
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Heisenbergstraße 2, 48149 Münster, Germany
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