Permafrost Thaw and Liberation of Inorganic Nitrogen in Eastern Siberia

Fabian Beermann; Moritz Langer; Sebastian Wetterich; Jens Strauss; Julia Boike; Claudia Fiencke; Lutz Schirrmeister; Eva Maria Pfeiffer; Lars Kutzbach

doi:10.1002/ppp.1958

Permafrost Thaw and Liberation of Inorganic Nitrogen in Eastern Siberia

Fabian Beermann^*
, Moritz Langer
, Sebastian Wetterich
, Jens Strauss
, Julia Boike
, Claudia Fiencke
, Lutz Schirrmeister
, Eva Maria Pfeiffer
, Lars Kutzbach

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The currently observed climate warming will lead to widespread degradation of near-surface permafrost, which may release substantial amounts of inorganic nitrogen (N) into arctic ecosystems. We studied 11 soil profiles at three different sites in arctic eastern Siberia to assess the amount of inorganic N stored in arctic permafrost soils. We modelled the potential thickening of the active layer for these sites using the CryoGrid2 permafrost model and representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 (a stabilisation scenario) and 8.5 (a business as usual emission scenario, with increasing carbon emissions). The modelled increases in active-layer thickness (ALT) were used to estimate potential annual liberation of inorganic N from permafrost soils during the course of climate change. We observed significant stores of inorganic ammonium in permafrost, up to 40-fold higher than in the active layer. The modelled increase in ALT under the RCP8.5 scenario can result in substantial liberation of N, reaching values up to the order of magnitude of annual fixation of atmospheric N in arctic soils. However, the thaw-induced liberation of N represents only a small flux in comparison with the overall ecosystem N cycling.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	605-618
Number of pages	14
Journal	Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
Volume	28
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1958
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2017
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The study presented here is part of the German–Russian joint project Polygons in tundra wetlands: state and dynamics under climate variability in tundra regions (Russian Foundation of Basic Research, RFBR grant No. 11-04-91332-NNIO-a and German Research Foundation, DFG grant No. KU 1418/3-1 to L.K. and DFG grant No. HE 3622/16-1 to U.H.). F.B. and L.K. were supported through the Cluster of Excellence ‘CliSAP’ (EXC177), University of Hamburg, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). F.B. was also supported through a doctoral fellowship of the University of Hamburg in accordance with the Hamburg Act for the Promotion of Young Researchers and Artists (HmbNFG). M.L., J.B. and L.K. were supported through the collaborative project ‘Changing Permafrost in the arctic and its Global Effects in the 21st Century – PAGE21’ funded through the seventh framework programme of the European Union. J.S. was supported by a European Research Council Starting grant (PETA-CARB, No. 338335) and the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association (No. ERC-0013). We thank our colleagues who helped during the expeditions in 2011 and 2012, especially Lyudmila A. Pestryakova from the North Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk as well as Vladimir E. Tumskoy from the Lomonosov State University in Moscow.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Funding

The study presented here is part of the German–Russian joint project Polygons in tundra wetlands: state and dynamics under climate variability in tundra regions (Russian Foundation of Basic Research, RFBR grant No. 11-04-91332-NNIO-a and German Research Foundation, DFG grant No. KU 1418/3-1 to L.K. and DFG grant No. HE 3622/16-1 to U.H.). F.B. and L.K. were supported through the Cluster of Excellence ‘CliSAP’ (EXC177), University of Hamburg, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). F.B. was also supported through a doctoral fellowship of the University of Hamburg in accordance with the Hamburg Act for the Promotion of Young Researchers and Artists (HmbNFG). M.L., J.B. and L.K. were supported through the collaborative project ‘Changing Permafrost in the arctic and its Global Effects in the 21st Century – PAGE21’ funded through the seventh framework programme of the European Union. J.S. was supported by a European Research Council Starting grant (PETA-CARB, No. 338335) and the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association (No. ERC-0013). We thank our colleagues who helped during the expeditions in 2011 and 2012, especially Lyudmila A. Pestryakova from the North Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk as well as Vladimir E. Tumskoy from the Lomonosov State University in Moscow.

Keywords

climate change
nitrogen
permafrost thaw
polygonal tundra

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title = "Permafrost Thaw and Liberation of Inorganic Nitrogen in Eastern Siberia",

abstract = "The currently observed climate warming will lead to widespread degradation of near-surface permafrost, which may release substantial amounts of inorganic nitrogen (N) into arctic ecosystems. We studied 11 soil profiles at three different sites in arctic eastern Siberia to assess the amount of inorganic N stored in arctic permafrost soils. We modelled the potential thickening of the active layer for these sites using the CryoGrid2 permafrost model and representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 (a stabilisation scenario) and 8.5 (a business as usual emission scenario, with increasing carbon emissions). The modelled increases in active-layer thickness (ALT) were used to estimate potential annual liberation of inorganic N from permafrost soils during the course of climate change. We observed significant stores of inorganic ammonium in permafrost, up to 40-fold higher than in the active layer. The modelled increase in ALT under the RCP8.5 scenario can result in substantial liberation of N, reaching values up to the order of magnitude of annual fixation of atmospheric N in arctic soils. However, the thaw-induced liberation of N represents only a small flux in comparison with the overall ecosystem N cycling.",

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author = "Fabian Beermann and Moritz Langer and Sebastian Wetterich and Jens Strauss and Julia Boike and Claudia Fiencke and Lutz Schirrmeister and Pfeiffer, \{Eva Maria\} and Lars Kutzbach",

note = "Funding Information: The study presented here is part of the German–Russian joint project Polygons in tundra wetlands: state and dynamics under climate variability in tundra regions (Russian Foundation of Basic Research, RFBR grant No. 11-04-91332-NNIO-a and German Research Foundation, DFG grant No. KU 1418/3-1 to L.K. and DFG grant No. HE 3622/16-1 to U.H.). F.B. and L.K. were supported through the Cluster of Excellence {\textquoteleft}CliSAP{\textquoteright} (EXC177), University of Hamburg, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). F.B. was also supported through a doctoral fellowship of the University of Hamburg in accordance with the Hamburg Act for the Promotion of Young Researchers and Artists (HmbNFG). M.L., J.B. and L.K. were supported through the collaborative project {\textquoteleft}Changing Permafrost in the arctic and its Global Effects in the 21st Century – PAGE21{\textquoteright} funded through the seventh framework programme of the European Union. J.S. was supported by a European Research Council Starting grant (PETA-CARB, No. 338335) and the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association (No. ERC-0013). We thank our colleagues who helped during the expeditions in 2011 and 2012, especially Lyudmila A. Pestryakova from the North Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk as well as Vladimir E. Tumskoy from the Lomonosov State University in Moscow. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2017 John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd.",

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N2 - The currently observed climate warming will lead to widespread degradation of near-surface permafrost, which may release substantial amounts of inorganic nitrogen (N) into arctic ecosystems. We studied 11 soil profiles at three different sites in arctic eastern Siberia to assess the amount of inorganic N stored in arctic permafrost soils. We modelled the potential thickening of the active layer for these sites using the CryoGrid2 permafrost model and representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 (a stabilisation scenario) and 8.5 (a business as usual emission scenario, with increasing carbon emissions). The modelled increases in active-layer thickness (ALT) were used to estimate potential annual liberation of inorganic N from permafrost soils during the course of climate change. We observed significant stores of inorganic ammonium in permafrost, up to 40-fold higher than in the active layer. The modelled increase in ALT under the RCP8.5 scenario can result in substantial liberation of N, reaching values up to the order of magnitude of annual fixation of atmospheric N in arctic soils. However, the thaw-induced liberation of N represents only a small flux in comparison with the overall ecosystem N cycling.

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Permafrost Thaw and Liberation of Inorganic Nitrogen in Eastern Siberia

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