DOCSLIB.ORG

Global Methane Emissions from Wetlands, Rice Paddies, and Lakes

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Global Methane Emissions from Wetlands, Rice Paddies, and Lakes Portland State University PDXScholar Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations Physics 2-3-2009 Global Methane Emissions From Wetlands, Rice Paddies, and Lakes Qianlai Zhuang Purdue University John M. Melack University of California, Santa Barbara Sergey Zimov North-East Science Station, Cherski Katey Marion Walter University of Alaska, Fairbanks Christopher Lee Butenhoff Portland State University See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/phy_fac Part of the Physics Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Citation Details Zhuang, Q., J. M. Melack, S. Zimov, K. M. Walter, C. L. Butenhoff, and M. A. K. Khalil (2009), Global Methan Emissions From Wetlands, Rice Paddies, and Lakes, Eos Trans. AGU, 90(5), 37, doi:10.1029/ 2009EO050001. This Article is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Authors Qianlai Zhuang, John M. Melack, Sergey Zimov, Katey Marion Walter, Christopher Lee Butenhoff, and M. A. K. Khalil This article is available at PDXScholar: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/phy_fac/5 Eos, Vol. 90, No. 5, 3 February 2009 VOLUME 90 NUMBER 5 3 FEBRUARY 2009 EOS, TRANSACTIONS, AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION PAGES 37–44 accurately quantify global methane emis- Global Methane Emissions From sions with these models [e.g., Dlugokencky et al., 2003]. Instrumentation for monitoring methane fluxes and concentrations should Wetlands, Rice Paddies, and Lakes be a priority. Controls on, and processes of, biogenic PAGES 37–38 surveys of vegetation and wetland types methane emissions are not well understood. should be continued as a means to further We suggest the following research priorities: The current concentration of atmospheric develop data on global lake and wetland dis- (1) elucidate the role of permafrost degrada- methane is 1774±1.8 parts per billion, and tribution and extent. tion in methane emissions; (2) further exam- it accounts for 18% of total greenhouse gas Methane flux measurements, which are ine the effects of the atmospheric deposition radiative forcing [Forster et al., 2007]. Atmo- lacking from a variety of ecosystems, as of nitrogen and sulfate on methane produc- spheric methane is 22 times more effec- noted below, are needed to improve emis- tion and consumption; (3) investigate the tive, on a per- unit- mass basis, than carbon sion estimates and the accuracy of biogeo- microbial community structure and distri- dioxide in absorbing long- wave radiation chemical models and atmospheric transport bution of those microbes responsible for on a 100- year time horizon, and it plays an inversion models [e.g., Zhuang and Ree- methane production and consumption; and important role in atmospheric ozone chem- burgh, 2008]. Data acquisition of in situ and (4) investigate the role of different vegetation istry (e.g., in the presence of nitrous oxides, satellite atmospheric concentrations and types in affecting the exchanges of methane tropospheric methane oxidation will lead their profiles should be maintained to more between wetlands and the atmosphere. to the formation of ozone). Wetlands are a large source of atmospheric methane, Arc- tic lakes have recently been recognized as a major source [e.g., Walter et al., 2006], and anthropogenic activities—such as rice agriculture—also make a considerable contribution. However, the quantification of methane emissions still has large uncertainties. In this article, we identify some causes for the uncertainty; illustrate the challenges of reduc- ing the uncertainty; and highlight opportu- nities for research from the global perspec- tive and also from the perspective of three principal sources of methane: the Arctic, the Amazon basin, and rice paddies. Global Perspective Accurately mapping the global distribu- tion and dynamics of lakes and wetland types is challenging. Currently, estimates of global wetland areas from ground and sat- ellite instruments vary from 1 to 12 million square kilometers. Some existing estimates do not account for small lakes, resulting in underestimates of lake areas by a factor of Fig. 1. (a) In the Siberian north, the polygonal net of ice wedges is ubiquitous. In Pleistocene- aged more than 2 [e.g., Walter et al., 2007]. Fur- (1.8 million to 10,000 years before present) yedoma (an organic- rich loess with about 2% car- ther, global characterizations of wetlands bon by mass and with ice content of 50–90% by volume [see Walter et al., 2006]), the tops of and lakes are too coarse to represent signifi- ice wedges are usually situated directly beneath the active layer, so the active layer growth will cant differences in methane emission rates, lead to ice wedge melting and the appearance of the polygonal net of deep channels. Ponding and data on seasonal and interannual wet- of water in these channels causes deep thaw of permafrost, leading to the formation of methane- land inundation derived from satellite sen- producing thermokarst lakes. (b) In the Arctic lakes, open holes in early winter lake ice due sors need to be further developed. Satel- to seeps of methane bubbling are visible from airplanes and in TerraSAR- X satellite imagery. lite data in combination with ground- level (c) Floodable area (black) for the Amazon basin below the 500- meter contour, derived from Japanese Earth Resources Satellite 1 (JERS 1) synthetic aperture radar mosaics. Floodable areas are not all inundated simultaneously and may include areas not floodable that are not visible at BY Q. ZHUANG , J. M. MELACK , S. ZI M OV , K. M. the scale of the image. These floodable areas are important to methane emissions in the Amazon WALTER , C. L. BUTENHOFF , AND M. A. K. KHALIL basin [from Melack and Hess, 2009]. Eos, Vol. 90, No. 5, 3 February 2009 Challenges and Opportunities in the Arctic have large uncertainties, and many tropi- 40 milligrams of methane per hour per cal systems lack measurements of emis- square meter. In part, this range reflects the The carbon- rich Arctic soils and lakes sions. For the Amazon basin, Melack et al. different ecosystems under which rice is are underlain with either continuous or dis- [2004] combined passive and active micro- grown (e.g., irrigated, rain- fed, deepwater, continuous permafrost, which is a large res- wave remote sensing of the temporally vary- and so forth), and water management (e.g., ervoir of carbon containing 700– 950 pen- ing extent of inundation and vegetation with continuous versus intermittently flooded), as tagrams of carbon in its top 1– 25 meters field measurements to estimate that meth- longer inundation periods produce higher (Figure 1a) [Zimov et al., 2006]. Currently, ane emissions are 22 teragrams per year. fluxes. It also reflects differences in input methane is released from both thaw lakes Further improvements in these estimates will organic matter, soil type, and crop phenol- and soils (Figure 1b) [Walter et al., 2006]. require field campaigns in undersampled ogy, among other variables. In addition, An increase in permafrost degradation environments including extensive savannas, SAFs from the same field in side- by- side and the shoreline erosion of existing lakes high- elevation wetlands, narrow riparian plots are observed to vary over the emis- along with the formation of new permafrost- zones along streams, and small rivers. sion season by a factor of 2 to 4, evidently thawing lakes is expected, and these Another important area in northern owing to field inhomogeneities. Sampling of changes could increase methane emissions South America is the upper Negro River methane flux in paddies using the standard from these lakes by several orders of magni- basin, because it includes an approximately method of three replicates can produce tude [Walter et al., 2007]. 80,000- square- kilometer area with season- SAFs that vary by 40–60% [Khalil and Buten- As permafrost thawing develops, ally flooded emergent grasses and sedges, hoff, 2008]. increased linear erosion associated with areas with shrubs or palms, and flooded Paddy emissions are sensitive to farm- thaw lake expansion and migration could forests— all of which are methanogenic ing practices that can change in response lead to stream channel erosion and lake habitats. Year- round measurements of dif- to economic and political pressures [Khalil drainage. For instance, in the discontinuous fusive and bubble emissions of methane in and Rasmussen, 1993]. In China, conserva- permafrost zone of West Siberia, this process these organic- rich environments, and the tion has reduced the amount of water used has already begun to lead to a decrease in influences of habitat, water depth, variation for paddy irrigation, while bans on biomass lake area. In West Siberia’s far north, deep, in hydrostatic pressure, dissolved oxygen, burning have returned otherwise burnt crop cold ice wedges comprise more than 80% and temperature, have recently been deter- residue to the field. Manure use has declined of permafrost volume and are often covered mined by Belger [2007]. Similar measure- in favor of inorganic fertilizers. Quantifying with only 0.5 meters of soil. Minor increases ments are needed in the Pantanal in central these changes is vital for determining accu- in summer soil active layer thickness will ini- South America, the Llanos de Moxos, largely rate inventories, but it remains challenging. tiate the thaw of ice wedges in permafrost. in eastern Bolivia, the Roraima savannas Many farming practices are not officially Once the melting process begins, the dis- of northern Brazil, and the swamps of low- recorded and are available only through per- appearance of these large ice bodies will land Peru, although many of the wetlands sonal communication. Interviews with farm- result in dramatic changes in land surface in these areas are situated in interfluvial ers have yielded important information, but driven by active thaw erosion, thawing tens regions, making access very difficult.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Effects of Large Herbivore Grazing on Relics of the Presumed Mammoth
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Efects of large herbivore grazing on relics of the presumed mammoth steppe in the extreme climate of NE‑Siberia Jennifer Reinecke1,2*, Kseniia Ashastina3,4, Frank Kienast3, Elena Troeva5 & Karsten Wesche1,2,6 The Siberian mammoth steppe ecosystem changed dramatically with the disappearance of large grazers in the Holocene. The concept of Pleistocene rewilding is based on the idea that large herbivore grazing signifcantly alters plant communities and can be employed to recreate lost ecosystems. On the other hand, modern rangeland ecology emphasizes the often overriding importance of harsh climates. We visited two rewilding projects and three rangeland regions, sampling a total of 210 vegetation relevés in steppe and surrounding vegetation (grasslands, shrublands and forests) along an extensive climatic gradient across Yakutia, Russia. We analyzed species composition, plant traits, diversity indices and vegetation productivity, using partial canonical correspondence and redundancy analysis. Macroclimate was most important for vegetation composition, and microclimate for the occurrence of extrazonal steppes. Macroclimate and soil conditions mainly determined productivity of vegetation. Bison grazing was responsible for small‑scale changes in vegetation through trampling, wallowing and debarking, thus creating more open and disturbed plant communities, soil compaction and xerophytization. However, the magnitude of efects depended on density and type of grazers as well as on interactions with climate and site conditions. Efects of bison grazing were strongest in the continental climate of Central Yakutia, and steppes were generally less afected than meadows. We conclude that contemporary grazing overall has rather limited efects on vegetation in northeastern Siberia. Current rewilding practices are still far from recreating a mammoth steppe, although large herbivores like bison can create more open and drier vegetation and increase nutrient availability in particular in the more continental Central Yakutian Plain.
    [Show full text]
  • Songs of the Kolyma Tundra
    ‘Songs of the Kolyma Tundra’ – Co-Production and Perpetuation of Knowledge Concerning Ecology and Weather in the Indigenous Communities of Nizhnikolyma, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russian Federation Tero Mustonen (1), Viatcheslav Shadrin (2), Kaisu Mustonen (1), Vladimir Vasiliev (3) together with the community representatives from Kolumskaya, Cherski, Andrejuskino, Podhovsk and the nomadic communities of Nutendli and Turvaurgin in the Niznikolyma region, Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, Russian Federation (1) Snowchange Cooperative / University of Joensuu (2) Institute of the Indigenous Peoples of the North (3) Northern Forum Academy Contact Information: Tero Mustonen, Snowchange Cooperative Havukkavaarantie 29 FIN 8125 Lehtoi Finland Email: [email protected] www.snowchange.org Abstract This article highlights community-based observations of climate and weather related changes in Indigenous communities of Niznikolyma or Lower Kolyma Region, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russian Federation along with local efforts to preserve traditional knowledge through a nomadic school, in part as an adaptive mechanism. The observations have been collected using a method of co-production of knowledge, which allows the local Indigenous peoples to participate in a meaningful way in research that involves and affects them. In the past four years, the Snowchange Cooperative based in Finland, in cooperation with the Institute of the Indigenous Peoples of the North and Northern Forum Academy based in Yakutsk, has conducted field research in the region to document and assess observations of rapid changes to weather, ecosystems, and human societies of North-East Siberia. Thawing of the continuous permafrost, disappearance of fishing lakes, and increased flooding and erosion are some of the observed changes impacting the region and its inhabitants.
    [Show full text]
  • In This Issue
    No. 41 Spring/Summer 2006 In this Issue: • Climate Change Stories from the Russian Arctic • Studying the Impacts of a Chinese Chemical Spill in Bolonsky Zapovednik • Abkhazia's Ritsinsky Relict National Park • Avian Flu: Russian Policies Raise Concerns PROMOTING BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN RUSSIA AND THROUGHOUT NORTHERN EURASIA CONTENTS CONTENTS Voice from the Wild ECOLOGICAL TOURISM (A Letter from the Editors)........................................................1 Encouraging Whale Watching and Marine PROTECTED AREAS Ecotourism in Russia...................................................................15 Bolonsky Zapovednik Studying the Impacts The Great Baikal Trai........................………………………………....18 of a Chinese Chemical Spill ................................………………...2 FOR DISCUSSION Developing and Regulating Tourism: Striking a Delicate Balance in Abkhazia's Avian Flu: Russian Official Ritsinsky Relict National Park.............................……………….5 Policies Raise Concerns................………….………………………..21 ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEMS CONSERVATION HISTORY Pleistocene Park: Return of the Reflections on the Social History Mammoth's Ecosystem.................................................................8 of Pechoro-Ilychsky Zapovednik...........…………………….25 Coastal Dwellers on Russia's ABSTRACTS IN RUSSIAN...............................................29 Chukotka Peninsula Report the Effects of Climate Change...........................12 CONSERVATION CONTACTS..............Back Cover Russian Conservation News is produced with
    [Show full text]
  • Rewilding John Carey, Science Writer
    CORE CONCEPTS CORE CONCEPTS Rewilding John Carey, Science Writer America’s vast forests and plains, Siberia’s tundra, or Such a restoration would bring back vital but lost Romania’s Carpathian Mountains may seem wild and ecological processes and benefits, Martin and others full of life. But they’re all missing something big: the large came to believe. Without mammoths and millions of animals that vanished by the end of the Pleistocene Ep- aurochs and other grazers (and wolves and big cats to och, roughly 10,000 years ago. In the United States, only keep the herbivores in check), the enormously pro- bones and echoing footsteps remain of the mammoths, ductive grasslands of the Pleistocene turned into camels, massive armadillo-like glyptodonts, lions, dire today’s far less productive forest, shrub land, and wolves, and saber-toothed cats that roamed for millennia. mossy tundra, with a major loss of ecosystem com- “Without knowing it, Americans live in a land of ghosts,” plexity and diversity. “Paul realized there was a big wrote the late University of Arizona scientist Paul Martin missing ecosystem component—the megafauna,” ex- in his 2005 book, Twilight of the Mammoths: Ice Age plains Harry Greene, professor of ecology and evolu- Extinctions and the Rewilding of America (1). tionary biology at Cornell. “Everything in North Some scientists and others now argue that we America evolved with about 58 to 60 big mammals should be bringing some of those ghosts back, part of that went extinct.” a controversial movement to “rewild” parts of Europe That realization sparked a growing effort to recre- and North America, whether by reintroducing extant ate the lost past, especially in Europe.
    [Show full text]
  • Rewilding and the Cultural Landscape
    Not lawn, nor pasture, mead: INVITATION Not lawn, nor pasture, nor mead: Rewilding and the Cultural Landscape Rewilding and the Cultural Landscape Andrea Rae Gammon Include that there will be a reception in the Aula following the defense. Paranymhps: Mira Vegter Andrea Rae Gammon [email protected] & Jochem Zwier [email protected] Not Lawn, Nor Pasture, Nor Mead: Rewilding and the Cultural Landscape gammon-layout.indd 1 13/01/2018 15:28 On the cover: Treelines (2009) by Robert Hite. Used with the generous permission of the artist. ISBN 978-94-6295-843-2 © 2017, Andrea Rae Gammon Printing, layout and cover design by ProefschriftMaken | Proefschriftmaken.nl gammon-layout.indd 2 13/01/2018 15:28 Not Lawn, Nor Pasture, Nor Mead: Rewilding and the Cultural Landscape PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen op gezag van de rector magnificus prof. dr. J.H.J.M. van Krieken, volgens besluit van het college van decanen in het openbaar te verdedigen op maandag 19 februari 2018 om 12.30 uur precies door Andrea Rae Gammon geboren op 11 augustus 1985 te Portland, Maine, Verenigde Staten van Amerika gammon-layout.indd 3 13/01/2018 15:28 Promotoren Prof. dr. H.A.E. Zwart Prof. dr. F.W.J. Keulartz Copromotor Dr. M.A.M. Drenthen Manuscriptcommissie Prof. dr. J. P. Wils (voorzitter) Prof. dr. P.J.H. Kockelkoren (Universiteit Twente) Dr. E. Peeren (Universiteit van Amsterdam) gammon-layout.indd 4 13/01/2018 15:28 Here was no man’s garden, but the unhandselled globe.
    [Show full text]
  • Final Report for Team 15.Py.Pdf
    Pleistocene Park Simulations Simulating Pleistocene Park New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge Final Report April 11th, 2021 Team 15 Monte del Sol Charter School Team Members: Brooklynn Martinez Isabella Martinez Kaley Martinez Project Mentors: Charles Strauss Joann Mudge Pleistocene Park Simulations Table of Contents Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………....3 Research and Context…………………………………………………………...…….4-5 Solving the Problem……………………………………………………………..……5-6 Results ………………………………………………………………………….…….6-9 In the Future……………………………………………………………………….…..9 Conclusion and Acknowledgments ………………………………………………..…10 References…………………………………………………………………………….11 Appendix A…………………………………………………………………….……..12-18 Appendix B……………………………………………………………………...…….19 Appendix C…………………………………………………………………..……….20-21 Pleistocene Park Simulations Executive summary: Climate change: a global phenomenon caused by an increase of carbon in our atmosphere that causes the Earth’s climate to change. In Siberia, a project founded by Sergey Zimov, called the Pleistocene Park, works with megafauna in order to develop, reverse and prevent the permafrost currently melting in the Arctic. During the Pleistocene Period, megafauna such as mammoths existed and inhabited the environment there. The Pleistocene Project works to re-introduce similar animals in order to de-insulate the snow and revive the grasslands. Keywords: snow patches, de-insulation megafauna, compact, climate change, global warming, Arctic Winter, simulation Pleistocene Park Simulations Research and Context: Climate Change is a global phenomenon with limited time and limited solutions. With a little over a decade to relieve the extensive C02 influx in the atmosphere, the hunt for an answer is more critical than ever. Solutions, such as the Abandoned Farmland Restorations and Efficient Aviation, explained by Paul Hawkin, an environmentalist, have been implemented in order to stall the ramifications of global warming, but not to stop it. The time to find a solution with substantial consequences is now.
    [Show full text]
  • Role of Megafauna and Frozen Soil in the Atmospheric CH4 Dynamics
    Role of Megafauna and Frozen Soil in the Atmospheric CH4 Dynamics Sergey Zimov*, Nikita Zimov Northeast Science Station, Pacific Institute for Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Cherskii, Russia Abstract Modern wetlands are the world’s strongest methane source. But what was the role of this source in the past? An analysis of global 14C data for basal peat combined with modelling of wetland succession allowed us to reconstruct the dynamics of global wetland methane emission through time. These data show that the rise of atmospheric methane concentrations during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition was not connected with wetland expansion, but rather started substantially later, only 9 thousand years ago. Additionally, wetland expansion took place against the background of a decline in atmospheric methane concentration. The isotopic composition of methane varies according to source. Owing to ice sheet drilling programs past dynamics of atmospheric methane isotopic composition is now known. For example over the course of Pleistocene-Holocene transition atmospheric methane became depleted in the deuterium isotope, which indicated that the rise in methane concentrations was not connected with activation of the deuterium-rich gas clathrates. Modelling of the budget of the atmospheric methane and its isotopic composition allowed us to reconstruct the dynamics of all main methane sources. For the late Pleistocene, the largest methane source was megaherbivores, whose total biomass is estimated to have exceeded that of present-day humans and domestic animals. This corresponds with our independent estimates of herbivore density on the pastures of the late Pleistocene based on herbivore skeleton density in the permafrost. During deglaciation, the largest methane emissions originated from degrading frozen soils of the mammoth steppe biome.
    [Show full text]
  • De-Extinction
    G C A T T A C G G C A T genes Review De-Extinction Ben Jacob Novak 1,2,3 1 Revive & Restore, Sausalito, CA 94965, USA; [email protected]; Tel.: +1-415-289-1000 2 Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia 3 Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Newcomb, Victoria 3220, Australia Received: 26 September 2018; Accepted: 7 November 2018; Published: 13 November 2018 Abstract: De-extinction projects for species such as the woolly mammoth and passenger pigeon have greatly stimulated public and scientific interest, producing a large body of literature and much debate. To date, there has been little consistency in descriptions of de-extinction technologies and purposes. In 2016, a special committee of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published a set of guidelines for de-extinction practice, establishing the first detailed description of de-extinction; yet incoherencies in published literature persist. There are even several problems with the IUCN definition. Here I present a comprehensive definition of de-extinction practice and rationale that expounds and reconciles the biological and ecological inconsistencies in the IUCN definition. This new definition brings together the practices of reintroduction and ecological replacement with de-extinction efforts that employ breeding strategies to recover unique extinct phenotypes into a single “de-extinction” discipline. An accurate understanding of de-extinction and biotechnology segregates the restoration of certain species into a new classification of endangerment, removing them from the purview of de-extinction and into the arena of species’ recovery.
    [Show full text]
  • Animals and Ecological Science
    Animals and Ecological Science Oxford Handbooks Online Animals and Ecological Science Anita Guerrini The Oxford Handbook of Animal Studies (Forthcoming) Edited by Linda Kalof Subject: Political Science, Political Theory, Comparative Politics Online Publication Date: Feb DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199927142.013.25 2015 Abstract and Keywords Ecological science, which studies the relationships between organisms and their environments, developed from natural history. Aristotle’s teleological chain of being and detailed description modeled natural history until the eighteenth century. Linnaeus and Buffon replaced Aristotelian categories with new criteria for classification, leading the way to Darwin’s evolutionary theory. Darwinian evolution depended on environmental factors and led to the birth of ecological science by the end of the nineteenth century. The ecosystem concept emphasizes populations and systems rather than individuals. Case studies, of wolves and fish show the range of modern ecological science. Anthropogenic changes to the environment have led to extinction and endangered species. Attempts to meliorate human influence include rewilding and synthetic biology. Keywords: ecological science, chain of being, ecosystem, endangered species, evolution, extinction, natural history, rewilding, synthetic biology, taxonomy Introduction The chapter examines animals as objects of scientific study in the ecological sciences under three broad headings. Before there was ecological science, there was natural history, while today some believe that the future of ecological science is in what has been called de-extinction or synthetic biology. Between these two extremes, I look at some current practices in ecological science, with case studies of wolves and fish. The following section of the volume looks at animals in ecosystems. From Natural History to Ecology Although Aristotle (384–322 BCE) was not the first to regard animals as subjects of inquiry rather than as commodities, he was the first Western philosopher to do this systematically.
    [Show full text]
  • ROBOT COWBOY: Ian Miller, Matt Rossbach REVIVING TUNDRA GRASSLAND Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, THROUGH ROBOTIC HERDING Louisiana State University
    ROBOT COWBOY: Ian Miller, Matt Rossbach REVIVING TUNDRA GRASSLAND Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, THROUGH ROBOTIC HERDING Louisiana State University 1 Algorithmic Ecology System Diagram ABSTRACT The primary issue in northeastern Siberia is the continuing recession of permafrost due to the degraded condition of the grassland ecology, which will amplify global warming. The release of ancient gas stored in the permafrost will accelerate the greenhouse effect and catastrophically affect the health of the planet. The restoration of Pleistocene-like conditions can actively combat this potential danger through gas sequestration in the roots of grasses and a stable layer of per- mafrost. Once reintroduced to the region, large herd animals will play an integral role in maintain- ing their own ecosystem. The use of digital sensing and robotics surpasses human capability to create a relationship between these large herding herbivores and the grassland tundra landscape in order to help stabilize and reestablish the Siberian permafrost. Robotic herding rovers tirelessly traverse the vast territory of Siberia equipped with instruments and satellite communication to continuously read and adjust to ground conditions, fostering an emergent ecology. These coop- erative technologies aid in the reconstruction of a grassland ecosystem with the ability to prevent permafrost from thawing and potentially mitigate negative consequences of global warming. 147 THE GLOBAL STAKES will: achieve the high transpiration rate of the grasses; increase the albedo to reflect solar radiation; increase drying winds across The proposal investigates the work of Russian geophysicist the region; and expand the depth of the permafrost. All of which Sergey Zimov at Pleistocene Park in Cherskii, the Republic of result in a cumulative effort of greenhouse gas sequestration Sakha—the region commonly known as Siberia.
    [Show full text]
  • References in Larger Numbers of Competitive Herbivores, Eventually Lowe, J
    One Step Back, Two Steps Forward: Reversing the Anthropocene Aldo Jesus and Tyler Lewis Department of Anthropology ANT 4901 Quaternary Environments – Dr. Anna Dixon Introduction Conclusions Our era is currently on a nearly unstoppable course Proof and Discussion Ultimately, by restoring a Pleistocene-like to the demise of our planet, the key component in all of ecosystem with the appropriate flora and fauna, this being that this end is “nearly” unstoppable. The Anthropocene, an era of significant human activity diverse and densely growing, can halt the possible responsible for the changes made to the Earth. secretion of microbes leading to carbon dioxide gases accelerating the greenhouse effect. The eventual presence of large herbivores means that Even with humans on the forefront, some would say most vegetation is grazed and most snow is that the Anthropocene is the introduction of a downfall trampled, leading to the ground becoming cooler to humanity. Fairly enough, as many may know, we and decreasing the chances of ice melting. The have had a great deal of issues caused by human Pleistocene environment is also known for reflecting activity that has harmed the Earth’s ability to be rays of sunlight skyward as opposed to absorbing it, self-sustaining. Even our trees, acting as carbon stores ridding of further heating of the Earth. In the to reduce emissions, are cut down in great amounts. wintertime, the temperature will be much colder than One ecosystem that remains fairly true to its natural roots through this is Northern Siberia, which is still at it is now to combat further melting of the area’s ice, risk of dying out due to human activity Figure 2: Sergey A.
    [Show full text]
  • Impacts of a Decadal Drainage Disturbance on Surface–Atmosphere fluxes of Carbon Dioxide in a Permafrost Ecosystem
    Biogeosciences, 13, 5315–5332, 2016 www.biogeosciences.net/13/5315/2016/ doi:10.5194/bg-13-5315-2016 © Author(s) 2016. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Impacts of a decadal drainage disturbance on surface–atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide in a permafrost ecosystem Fanny Kittler1, Ina Burjack1, Chiara A. R. Corradi2, Martin Heimann1,3, Olaf Kolle1, Lutz Merbold4,6, Nikita Zimov5, Sergey Zimov5, and Mathias Göckede1 1Biogeochemical Systems, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany 2University of Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy 3Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland 4ETH Zurich, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland 5North-East Science Station, Pacific Institute for Geography, Far-Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Science, Chersky, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia 6Mazingira Centre, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya Correspondence to: Fanny Kittler ([email protected]) Received: 4 April 2016 – Published in Biogeosciences Discuss.: 22 April 2016 Revised: 31 August 2016 – Accepted: 6 September 2016 – Published: 23 September 2016 Abstract. Hydrologic conditions are a major controlling fac- the past decade. Net changes in CO2 fluxes are dominated tor for carbon exchange processes in high-latitude ecosys- by a major increase in photosynthetic uptake, resulting in a tems. The presence or absence of water-logged conditions stronger CO2 sink in 2013–2015. Application of a MODIS- can lead to significant shifts in ecosystem structure and car- based classification scheme to separate the growing season bon cycle processes. In this study, we compared growing into four sub-seasons improved the interpretation of interan- season CO2 fluxes of a wet tussock tundra ecosystem from nual variability by illustrating the systematic shifts in CO2 an area affected by decadal drainage to an undisturbed area uptake patterns that have occurred in this ecosystem over the on the Kolyma floodplain in northeastern Siberia.
    [Show full text]