Download Functioning of Siberian mire ecosystems and their response to

Functioning of Siberian mire ecosystems and their response to climate
change: CliMireSiber project
F. Laggoun-Défarge1, D. Gilbert2, A.J. Francez3, A. Buttler4, C. Guimbaud5, S.
Derenne6, M. Lamentowicz7, E. Mitchell8, L. Bragazza9, E. Lapshina10
1*
ISTO/OSUC, Orléans ; 2Chrono-Environnement, Besançon ; 3ECOBIO, Rennes ; 4ECOS / EPFL,
Lausanne, Suisse ; 5LPC2E/OSUC, Orléans ; 6BioEmco, Paris ; 7University of Poznan, Poland ;
8
Université de Neuchâtel, Suisse ; 9University of Ferrara, Italie ; 10Yugra State University, Russie.
Peatlands contain approximately one-third of total soil organic carbon (C). Climate warming in
association with hydrological changes can alter aboveground and belowground interactions with
expected significant effects on soil organic matter dynamics and C-balance in peatlands. Western
Siberia hosts extensive pristine peatlands (“mires”) which store a significant amount of C as peat.
In addition, high latitude locations, where most of peatlands are found, are expected to experience
stronger climate changes in the coming centuries. For this reason, a better understanding of the
biogeochemical responses of Siberian peatlands to climate change is crucial to forecast the future
of soil organic C and the feedback on C cycling at global scale.
The objective of CliMireSiber project is to evaluate the effects of a manipulated temperature
increase in combination with water table changes on the interactions between above- and
belowground biodiversity and C balance. For the latter, a special emphasis will be done on the
effect of increased labile carbon substrate released by increased vascular plant cover.
Hypotheses that are proposed to be tested within the proposed project is that a rise in temperature
in combination with hydrological changes will:
(i) induce a shift from Sphagnum-dominated system to a vascular plant-dominated system,
(ii) change the interaction between plants and microbes for the N and P acquisition in favour of
nutrients acquisition by vascular plants,
(iii) induce changes in primary net plant production and soil respiration, thus resulting in a
modification of the C balance.
The goal is the creation of a biogeochemical model of C that includes interactions between these
key-compartments. The study of the most useful biological and geochemical compartments will
lead to a better identification and calibration of markers of temperature-drought-induced changes.
The patterns of the newly identified proxies throughout the peat records will be used to reconstruct
climate changes during the last centuries in Siberia.
This research is carried out in collaboration with Yugra State University at Mukhrino Field Station
(MFS, Siberia) which has an available experimental station where we have already set up 15
manipulated plots for water table manipulation and 15 control plots.
CliMireSiber is very relevant for both EU and Russian partners: (i) the opportunities available in
Western Siberia to perform experimental research on pristine peatlands are of high value since this
country hosts very representative peatlands and quantitatively important at global scale and for
global change issues and (ii) the Russian researchers will gain expertise from EU partners in
already tested field techniques and laboratory analyses and will have the opportunity to compare
Western Siberian peatlands with those of Europe, where, because of the present climate, many
peatlands are closer to the critical ecological conditions, and can thus provide valuable information
on threshold.
CliMireSiber will hopefully spark a long-term monitoring at Mukhrino Field Station which allows us
to set up a future larger Europe – Siberia network. In this way, CliMireSiber will open the door for a
larger FP-7 EU project that will integrate more partners in Europe and in Siberia, thus developing
the peatland research community in Europe.
*[email protected]