Vegetation‐Permafrost Relations within the Forest‐Tundra Ecotone near Old Crow, Northern Yukon, Canada. (2nd April 2014)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Vegetation‐Permafrost Relations within the Forest‐Tundra Ecotone near Old Crow, Northern Yukon, Canada. (2nd April 2014)
- Main Title:
- Vegetation‐Permafrost Relations within the Forest‐Tundra Ecotone near Old Crow, Northern Yukon, Canada
- Authors:
- Roy‐Léveillée, P.
Burn, C. R.
McDonald, I. D. - Abstract:
- <abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>ABSTRACT</title> <p>Old Crow Flats is a 5600 km<sup>2</sup> glaciolacustrine plain that straddles the forest‐tundra ecotone in northern Yukon. Continuous taiga corridors occur in the entrenched river valleys, where annual mean ground temperatures (T<sub>g</sub>) at the depth of zero annual amplitude at two locations were −3.1 and −4.0ºC in 2013. On the Flats, the vegetation cover is patchy, and T<sub>g</sub> varied between −5.1 and −2.6ºC. Annual mean near‐surface permafrost temperatures (T<sub>ps</sub>) measured on the Flats between 2008 and 2011 in patches of taiga, tall shrubs and low shrubs were correlated with local snow depth. Snow depth was controlled by vegetation height if the snow supply was not limited, for example, where low shrubs and large lakes dominate the landscape. In this setting, snow depths and, hence, T<sub>ps</sub> in taiga patches were higher (−2.6 to −2.9ºC) than in the surrounding shrub vegetation (−3.5 to −5.5ºC). Where taiga patches were more extensive, redistributed snow was trapped at the patch edge and T<sub>ps</sub> in taiga was lower (−4.1 to −4.3ºC) than in the surrounding shrub patches (−3.2 to −3.6ºC). The permafrost temperature field is heterogeneous under patchy vegetation in the forest‐tundra ecotone. Our data suggest that it is governed by both the snow‐holding capacity of local vegetation patches and the spatial configuration of vegetation in the surrounding landscape, which controls snow supply.<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>ABSTRACT</title> <p>Old Crow Flats is a 5600 km<sup>2</sup> glaciolacustrine plain that straddles the forest‐tundra ecotone in northern Yukon. Continuous taiga corridors occur in the entrenched river valleys, where annual mean ground temperatures (T<sub>g</sub>) at the depth of zero annual amplitude at two locations were −3.1 and −4.0ºC in 2013. On the Flats, the vegetation cover is patchy, and T<sub>g</sub> varied between −5.1 and −2.6ºC. Annual mean near‐surface permafrost temperatures (T<sub>ps</sub>) measured on the Flats between 2008 and 2011 in patches of taiga, tall shrubs and low shrubs were correlated with local snow depth. Snow depth was controlled by vegetation height if the snow supply was not limited, for example, where low shrubs and large lakes dominate the landscape. In this setting, snow depths and, hence, T<sub>ps</sub> in taiga patches were higher (−2.6 to −2.9ºC) than in the surrounding shrub vegetation (−3.5 to −5.5ºC). Where taiga patches were more extensive, redistributed snow was trapped at the patch edge and T<sub>ps</sub> in taiga was lower (−4.1 to −4.3ºC) than in the surrounding shrub patches (−3.2 to −3.6ºC). The permafrost temperature field is heterogeneous under patchy vegetation in the forest‐tundra ecotone. Our data suggest that it is governed by both the snow‐holding capacity of local vegetation patches and the spatial configuration of vegetation in the surrounding landscape, which controls snow supply. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.</p> </abstract> … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Permafrost and periglacial processes. Volume 25:Number 2(2014:Apr./Jun.)
- Journal:
- Permafrost and periglacial processes
- Issue:
- Volume 25:Number 2(2014:Apr./Jun.)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 25, Issue 2 (2014)
- Year:
- 2014
- Volume:
- 25
- Issue:
- 2
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2014-0025-0002-0000
- Page Start:
- 127
- Page End:
- 135
- Publication Date:
- 2014-04-02
- Subjects:
- Frozen ground -- Periodicals
Sols gelés -- Périodiques
Périglaciaire -- Périodiques
551.3805 - Journal URLs:
- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ ↗
- DOI:
- 10.1002/ppp.1805 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1045-6740
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 6426.685000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library STI - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 4260.xml