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Vegetation transitions drive the autotrophy-heterotrophy balance in Arctic lakes

Vegetation transitions drive the autotrophy-heterotrophy balance in Arctic lakes
Vegetation transitions drive the autotrophy-heterotrophy balance in Arctic lakes
“Arctic greening” will alter vegetation quantity and quality in northern watersheds, with possible consequences for lake metabolic balance. We used paleolimnology from six Arctic lakes in Greenland, Norway, and Alaska to develop a conceptual model describing how climate‐driven shifts in terrestrial vegetation (spanning herb to boreal forest) influence lake autotrophic biomass (as chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments). Major autotrophic transitions occurred, including (1) optimal production of siliceous algae and cyanobacteria/chlorophytes at intermediate vegetation cover (dwarf shrub and Betula; dissolved organic carbon (DOC) range of 2–4 mg L−1), below and above which UVR exposure (DOC; < 2 mgL−1) and light extinction (DOC; > 4 mgL−1), respectively limit algal biomass, (2) an increase in potentially mixotrophic cryptophytes with higher forest cover and allochthonous carbon supply. Vegetation cover appears to influence lake autotrophs by changing influx of (colored) dissolved organic matter which has multiple interacting roles—as a photoprotectant—in light attenuation and in macronutrient (carbon, nitrogen) supply.
246-255
McGowan, Suzanne
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Anderson, John
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Edwards, Mary
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Hopla, Emma-Jayne
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Jones, Viv
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Langdon, Peter
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Law, Antonia
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Soloveiva, Nadia
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Turner, Simon
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Van Hardenbroek van ammerstol, Maarten R
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Whiteford, Erica
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Wiik, Emma
a772986d-4065-40c7-8d90-643ea0a04a25
McGowan, Suzanne
b06e2e74-95bb-44d6-8184-273c8dec9883
Anderson, John
a3a796ad-dd6e-4ea4-a6c9-d8727007d417
Edwards, Mary
4b6a3389-f3a4-4933-b8fd-acdfef72200e
Hopla, Emma-Jayne
bfe73898-0ce0-4aa4-9e4b-90d6ee831e71
Jones, Viv
f416e53b-b5bf-407f-887c-fe2db8f3dd53
Langdon, Peter
95b97671-f9fe-4884-aca6-9aa3cd1a6d7f
Law, Antonia
7589e124-6bdf-4412-bfc4-dcbe8aae2f5a
Soloveiva, Nadia
1b4e2fc2-a677-4fc0-bcc6-dc3aa27b31ea
Turner, Simon
34b3d337-fee5-40c1-979f-d4655f20c6ca
Van Hardenbroek van ammerstol, Maarten R
7ddff57e-78f7-444a-a3fc-946ef7f7bbfc
Whiteford, Erica
6054e338-f568-4c27-91ef-2a4d54294bf9
Wiik, Emma
a772986d-4065-40c7-8d90-643ea0a04a25

McGowan, Suzanne, Anderson, John, Edwards, Mary, Hopla, Emma-Jayne, Jones, Viv, Langdon, Peter, Law, Antonia, Soloveiva, Nadia, Turner, Simon, Van Hardenbroek van ammerstol, Maarten R, Whiteford, Erica and Wiik, Emma (2018) Vegetation transitions drive the autotrophy-heterotrophy balance in Arctic lakes. Limnology and Oceanography Letters, 3 (3), 246-255. (doi:10.1002/lol2.10086).

Record type: Article

Abstract

“Arctic greening” will alter vegetation quantity and quality in northern watersheds, with possible consequences for lake metabolic balance. We used paleolimnology from six Arctic lakes in Greenland, Norway, and Alaska to develop a conceptual model describing how climate‐driven shifts in terrestrial vegetation (spanning herb to boreal forest) influence lake autotrophic biomass (as chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments). Major autotrophic transitions occurred, including (1) optimal production of siliceous algae and cyanobacteria/chlorophytes at intermediate vegetation cover (dwarf shrub and Betula; dissolved organic carbon (DOC) range of 2–4 mg L−1), below and above which UVR exposure (DOC; < 2 mgL−1) and light extinction (DOC; > 4 mgL−1), respectively limit algal biomass, (2) an increase in potentially mixotrophic cryptophytes with higher forest cover and allochthonous carbon supply. Vegetation cover appears to influence lake autotrophs by changing influx of (colored) dissolved organic matter which has multiple interacting roles—as a photoprotectant—in light attenuation and in macronutrient (carbon, nitrogen) supply.

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Accepted/In Press date: 10 April 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 4 May 2018
Published date: June 2018
Additional Information: Special Issue ‐ Carbon cycling in inland waters: Progress and perspectives

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 422214
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/422214
PURE UUID: 9d0e5c0b-f2f6-474d-91d9-3ae975e8a428
ORCID for Mary Edwards: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3490-6682
ORCID for Peter Langdon: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2724-2643

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Date deposited: 18 Jul 2018 16:31
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:27

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Contributors

Author: Suzanne McGowan
Author: John Anderson
Author: Mary Edwards ORCID iD
Author: Emma-Jayne Hopla
Author: Viv Jones
Author: Peter Langdon ORCID iD
Author: Antonia Law
Author: Nadia Soloveiva
Author: Simon Turner
Author: Maarten R Van Hardenbroek van ammerstol
Author: Erica Whiteford
Author: Emma Wiik

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