Abstract
This study investigates the influence of vegetation composition on carbon (C) sequestration in a moss-dominated ecosystem in the Arctic.
A 13C labelling study in an arctic wet meadow was used to trace assimilate into C pools of differing recalcitrance within grasses and mosses and to determine the retention of C by these plant groups.
Moss retained 70% of assimilated 13C over the month following labelling, which represented half the growing season. By contrast, the vascular plants, comprising mostly grasses, retained only 40%. The mechanism underlying this was that moss allocated 80% of the 13C to recalcitrant C pools, a much higher proportion than in grasses (56%).
This method enabled elucidation of a plant trait that will influence decomposition and hence persistence of assimilated C in the ecosystem. We predict that moss-dominated vegetation will retain sequestered C more strongly than a grass-dominated community. Given the strong environmental drivers that are causing a shift from moss to grass dominance, this is likely to result in a reduction in future ecosystem C sink strength.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 944-949 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | New Phytologist |
Volume | 184 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 14 Sep 2009 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2009 |
Keywords
- 13C
- Arctic
- carbon
- decomposition sequestration
- grass
- moss
- plant growth form
- climate-change
- habitat degradation
- plant
- tundra
- decomposition
- temperature
- vegetation
- feedbacks
- responses
- turnover