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Continuous and discontinuous variation in ecosystem carbon stocks with elevation across a treeline ecotone

Speed, James David Mervyn; Martinsen, Vegard; Hester, Alison J.; Holand, Øystein; Mulder, Jan; Mysterud, Atle; Austrheim, Gunnar
Journal article, Peer reviewed
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URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11250/298457
Date
2015
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  • Institutt for naturhistorie [945]
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Original version
Biogeosciences 2015, 12(5):1615-1627   10.5194/bg-12-1615-2015
Abstract
Treelines differentiate vastly contrasting ecosystems:

open tundra from closed forest. Treeline advance has

implications for the climate system due to the impact of the

transition from tundra to forest ecosystem on carbon (C) storage

and albedo. Treeline advance has been seen to increase

above-ground C stocks as low vegetation is replaced with

trees but decrease organic soil C stocks as old carbon is decomposed.

However, studies comparing across the treeline

typically do not account for elevational variation within the

ecotone. Here we sample ecosystem C stocks along an elevational

gradient (970 to 1300 m), incorporating a large-scale

and long-term livestock grazing experiment, in the southern

Norwegian mountains. We investigate whether there are

continuous or discontinuous changes in C storage across the

treeline ecotone, and whether these are modulated by grazing.

We find that vegetation C stock decreases with elevation,

with a clear breakpoint between the forest line and treeline

above which the vegetation C stock is constant. C stocks in

organic surface horizons of the soil were higher above the

treeline than in the forest, whereas C stocks in mineral soil

horizons are unrelated to elevation. Total ecosystem C stocks

also showed a discontinuous elevational pattern, increasing

with elevation above the treeline (8 gm-2 per metre increase

in elevation), but decreasing with elevation below the forest

line (-15 gm-2 per metre increase in elevation), such that

ecosystem C storage reaches a minimum between the forest

line and treeline. We did not find any effect of short-term

(12 years) grazing on the elevational patterns. Our findings demonstrate that patterns of C storage across the treeline are

complex, and should be taken account of when estimating

ecosystem C storage with shifting treelines.
Publisher
European Geosciences Union
Journal
Biogeosciences

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