Lateral carbon flux in the cryolithozone of central Siberia

Abstract

Quantitative assessments of the carbon balance of terrestrial landscapes and, specifically the permafrost zone, where the most significant warming trends are observed, require taking into account the export of terrigenous carbon beyond their boundaries with lateral flow. The paper presents the results of long-term monitoring of intraseasonal and interannual fluctuations in the concentrations of dissolved organic (DOC) and inorganic (DIC) carbon in the hydrographic network of the Central Siberian Plateau, carried out on the basis of the Evenkian field station of the V. N. Sukachev Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Tura settlement). Research is being carried out on more than 100 streams and rivers of various orders in the middle reaches of the Lower Tunguska River (62–66°N, 96–102°E) based on regular measurements of the concentrations of all forms of carbon, as well as quasi-continuous monitoring of the physical and chemical parameters using specific sensors and automatic loggers. It has been shown that the main limiting factors of lateral carbon flux within the Central Siberian Plateau at present are: 1) stocks of potentially mobilizeable organic carbon in terrestrial landscapes and 2) amount of precipitation in a sharply continental climate. An increase in the DOC flux is predicted both as a result of thawing of C-rich frozen deposits and an increase in the productivity of plant cover, and inorganic carbon – as a result of increased rates of silicate rock weathering and sequestration of atmospheric CO2. Negative predictions of DOC behaviour are associated with an increase in the depth of infiltration of solutes with an increase in the seasonally thawed soil layer, which determines the sorption of DOC in the soil column and its microbiological destruction. An increase in the area and intensity of fires as a result of climate warming determines a significant transformation of the lateral carbon flux. At the same time, the observed reduction in river flow as a result of an increase in the pyrogenic factor will determine the overall decrease in the transport of terrigenous carbon from terrestrial landscapes.

Keywords

• carbon
• lateral flow
• watercourses of different orders
• fires
• central siberian plateau