Air temperature changes and their impact on permafrost ecosystems in Eastern Siberia
2015
Desyatkin, Roman (Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk (Russian Federation). Siberian Branch, Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone) | Fedorov, Alexander (Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk (Russian Federation). Siberian Branch, Melnikov Permafrost Institute) | Desyatkin, Alexey (Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk (Russian Federation). Siberian Branch, Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone) | Konstantinov, Pavel (Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk (Russian Federation). Siberian Branch, Melnikov Permafrost Institute)
Significant increasing of mean annual air temperatures, freezing index and thaw-ing index – have exerted a considerable impact on the state of permafrost land-scapes and ecosystems in Eastern Siberia on the last few decades. Many animals and plants have shifted their ranges and this may be the precursor of northward shifts of the landscape zones. Landscapes that contain ground ice bodies in the un-derlying permafrost are especially sensitive to climate warming. Increase of mean annual air temperature for 2-3 °C over the last three decades has resulted an in-crease in ground temperature by 0.4-1.3 °C in the upper part of permafrost, which in turn has led intensification of negative cryogenic processes. Previous year's measurements of greenhouses gases emission in the Middle Taiga forest of central Yakutia were found to show high values and spatial variability. The wet meadow soils and shallow lakes have highest methane fluxes, almost comparable with emis-sions from tropical peatlands. Permafrost ecosystems respond to global warming quite rapidly. This makes the study of their changes somewhat easier, but still re-quires meticulous attention to observations, research, and analysis of the processes under way.
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