This project involves conducting a field measurements program near Cherski, Siberia to quantify the impacts of disturbance on the seasonal cycle of atmospheric carbon dioxide and the discharge of carbon and nitrogen into the Arctic Ocean in forest and shrubby tundra regions. Coastal plain tundra in the region has accumulated large stores of carbon in sediments during the Pleistocene that has been slowly released to the atmosphere and ocean through melting of previously frozen soils during the Holocene. Disturbance, particularly forest fires, of the vegetation exposes the soils to accelerated carbon loss through more direct exposure to erosion. The study will compare an undisturbed region to recently disturbed areas and determine the effects of changes in temperature and hydrology on the rate of carbon flux. The results will be utilized in models to examine possible future disturbance effects, particularly those that could be accelerated by warmer climate conditions.
