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Epstein, Howard E; Raynolds, Martha K; Walker, Donald A; Bhatt, Uma S; Tucker, Compton J; Pinzon, Jorge E (2012): Arctic aboveground tundra biomass dynamics between 1982 and 2010. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.809919, Supplement to: Epstein, HE et al. (2012): Dynamics of aboveground phytomass of the circumpolar Arctic tundra during the past three decades. Environmental Research Letters, 7(1), 12 pp, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/015506

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Abstract:
Numerous studies have evaluated the dynamics of Arctic tundra vegetation throughout the past few decades, using remotely sensed proxies of vegetation, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). While extremely useful, these coarse-scale satellite-derived measurements give us minimal information with regard to how these changes are being expressed on the ground, in terms of tundra structure and function. In this analysis, we used a strong regression model between NDVI and aboveground tundra phytomass, developed from extensive field-harvested measurements of vegetation biomass, to estimate the biomass dynamics of the circumpolar Arctic tundra over the period of continuous satellite records (1982-2010). We found that the southernmost tundra subzones (C-E) dominate the increases in biomass, ranging from 20 to 26%, although there was a high degree of heterogeneity across regions, floristic provinces, and vegetation types. The estimated increase in carbon of the aboveground live vegetation of 0.40 Pg C over the past three decades is substantial, although quite small relative to anthropogenic C emissions. However, a 19.8% average increase in aboveground biomass has major implications for nearly all aspects of tundra ecosystems including hydrology, active layer depths, permafrost regimes, wildlife and human use of Arctic landscapes. While spatially extensive on-the-ground measurements of tundra biomass were conducted in the development of this analysis, validation is still impossible without more repeated, long-term monitoring of Arctic tundra biomass in the field.
Related to:
Raynolds, Martha K; Walker, Donald A; Epstein, Howard E; Pinzon, Jorge E; Tucker, Compton J (2012): A new estimate of tundra-biome phytomass from trans-Arctic field data and AVHRR NDVI. Remote Sensing Letters, 3(5), 403-411, https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2011.609188
Walker, Donald A; Epstein, Howard E; Raynolds, Martha K; Kuss, Patrick; Kopecky, M A; Frost, Gerald V; Daniëls, Frederikus J A; Leibman, Marina O; Moskalenko, Nataliya G; Matyshak, George V; Khitun, OV; Khomutov, Artem V; Forbes, Bruce C; Bhatt, Uma S; Kade, Anja N; Vonlanthen, Corinne M; Tichy, L (2012): Environment, vegetation and greenness (NDVI) along the North America and Eurasia Arctic transects. Environmental Research Letters, 7(1), 015504, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/015504
Walker, Donald A; Kuss, Patrick; Epstein, Howard E; Kade, Anja N; Vonlanthen, Corinne M; Raynolds, Martha K; Daniëls, Frederikus J A (2011): Vegetation of zonal patterned-ground ecosystems along the North America Arctic bioclimate gradient. Applied Vegetation Science, 14(4), 440-463, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-109X.2011.01149.x
Comment:
Data extracted in the frame of a joint ICSTI/PANGAEA IPY effort, see http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.150150
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