Holocene carbon dynamics at the forest-steppe ecotone of southern Siberia

Mackay, Anson William; Seddon, Alistair W. R.; Leng, Melanie J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1115-5166; Heumann, Georg; Morley, David W.; Piotrowska, Natalia; Rioual, Patrick; Roberts, Sarah; Swann, George E. A.. 2017 Holocene carbon dynamics at the forest-steppe ecotone of southern Siberia. Global Change Biology, 23 (5). 1942-1960. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13583

Before downloading, please read NORA policies.

Preview

Text s1-ln25120884-7743087961703867393Hwf646638869IdV-66955925125120884FIRST_LOOK_PDF0001 (1).pdf - Accepted Version Download (7MB) | Preview

Abstract/Summary

The forest–steppe ecotone in southern Siberia is highly sensitive to climate change; global warming is expected to push the ecotone northwards, at the same time resulting in degradation of the underlying permafrost. To gain a dee- per understanding of long-term forest–steppe carbon dynamics, we use a highly resolved, multiproxy, palaeolimno- logical approach, based on sediment records from Lake Baikal. We reconstruct proxies that are relevant to understanding carbon dynamics including carbon mass accumulation rates (CMAR; g C m 2 yr 1 ) and isotope com- position of organic matter (d 13 C TOC ). Forest–steppe dynamics were reconstructed using pollen, and diatom records provided measures of primary production from near- and off-shore communities. We used a generalized additive model (GAM) to identify significant change points in temporal series, and by applying generalized linear least- squares regression modelling to components of the multiproxy data, we address (1) What factors influence carbon dynamics during early Holocene warming and late Holocene cooling? (2) How did carbon dynamics respond to abrupt sub-Milankovitch scale events? and (3) What is the Holocene carbon storage budget for Lake Baikal. CMAR values range between 2.8 and 12.5 g C m 2 yr 1 . Peak burial rates (and greatest variability) occurred during the early Holocene, associated with melting permafrost and retreating glaciers, while lowest burial rates occurred during the neoglacial. Significant shifts in carbon dynamics at 10.3, 4.1 and 2.8 kyr BP provide compelling evidence for the sensi- tivity of the region to sub-Milankovitch drivers of climate change. We estimate that 1.03 Pg C was buried in Lake Baikal sediments during the Holocene, almost one-quarter of which was buried during the early Holocene alone. Combined, our results highlight the importance of understanding the close linkages between carbon cycling and hydrological processes, not just temperatures, in southern Siberian environments.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13583
ISSN:	13541013
Date made live:	20 Feb 2017 14:04 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/516274

Actions (login required)

View Item

Document Downloads

More statistics for this item...