Earth’s Cryosphere, 2020, vol. XXIV, No. 4, pp. 30-39
10.21782/EC2541-9994-2020-4(30-39)

EFFECTS OF MICROCLIMATIC AND LANDSCAPE CHANGES ON THE TEMPERATURE REGIME AND THAW DEPTH UNDER A FIELD EXPERIMENT IN THE BOLSHEZEMELSKAYA TUNDRA

D.A. Kaverin1, A.V. Pastukhov1, M. Marushchak2,3, С. Biasi2, A.B. Novakovsky1

1 Institute of Biology, Komi Science Center RAS, 28, Kommunisticheskaya str., Syktyvkar, 167982, Russia; dkav@mail.ru
2 University of Eastern Finland, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, FI-70211, Kuopio, P/O box 1627, Finland
3 University of Jyväskylä, Department of Biological and Environmental Science,
FI-40014, 15 Seminaarinkatu, Jyväskylä, P/O box 35, Finland

Results of a field experiment conducted in order to assess the impact of microclimatic and landscape changes on the temperature regime and thaw depth in permafrost-affected soils of subarctic ecosystems at the southern permafrost limit of the European Northeast are presented. To carry out the field experiment in 2012 in various types of tundra landscapes (vegetated surfaces of peat mounds and watershed ridges, peat circles), 15 transparent open top chambers were installed. During 2016–2018 local temperature changes above the surface (height 5 cm) and in the upper soil layer (depth 20 cm) were studied along with the change in quantitative parameters of landscape components (vegetation height, snow thickness, leaf area index, soil moisture, the depth of the suprapermafrost water-level) affecting soil temperature and the thaw depth. It was found that in the chamber contours, the winter and summer temperatures above the surface and in the upper soil layer, the vegetation height, and snow thickness statistically significantly increase, whereas an increase in the active layer thickness was insignificant. Permafrost-affected soils of peat circles and the clay loam-rich watershed ridge are found to be the most vulnerable to microclimatic and landscape changes.

Key words: tundra, field experiment, chambers, microclimate, landscape factors, soil temperature, active layer

Please cite as:

Kaverin D.A., Pastukhov A.V., Marushchak M., Biasi С., Novakovsky A.B. Effects of microclimatic and landscape changes on the temperature regime and thaw depth under a field experiment in the Bolshezemelskaya tundra. Earth’s Cryosphere, 2020, vol. XXIV, No. 4, pp.30-39, DOI: 10.21782/EC2541-9994-2020-4(30-39)