B080-0022
Spatiotemporal Characterization of Tree Encroachment Process at Timberline Ecotone

Monday, 14 December 2020
Poster
Wenbo Zhou1, Valeriy Yu Ivanov2, Aleksey Y Sheshukov3, Jingfeng Wang4, Husayn Ahmad El Sharif5, Desheng Liu6, Valeriy Mazepa7, Stepan Shiyatov7 and Alexander Sokolov8, (1)University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, United States, (2)University of Michigan, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI, United States, (3)Kansas State University, Biological & Agricultural Engineering, Manhattan, KS, United States, (4)GA Ins of Tech-Civil & Env Eng, Atlanta, GA, United States, (5)Georgia Institute of Technology Main Campus, Lake Worth, FL, United States, (6)The Ohio State University, Department of Geography, Columbus, OH, United States, (7)Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia, (8)Arctic Research Station, Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Labytnangi, Russia
Abstract:
Plant biomass and tall vegetation have been increasing in tundra areas across the Arctic polar region due to the warming climate. Past studies discovered expansion of larch and shrubs into tundra areas of the Polar Urals and Yamal regions of Russia and records has shown heterogeneity of the encroachment process. In this study, we focus on an ecotone transect where tree-level monitoring program of vegetation dynamics started in 1960. Detailed mappings of tree locations over the transect, along with allometric and morphometric measurements such as height and diameter at breast height were recorded during three census campaigns of 1960, 1999, and 2011. The data make it possible to quantitatively assess changes in structure and spatial distribution of this vegetation community over the span of more than 50 years. A density-based clustering analysis was conducted to detect the spatiotemporal change of the distribution patterns of the tree stands between censuses. The results show a change of cluster patterns related to tree appearance, growth, and mortality at different locations. Cluster patterns revealed in this analysis, combined with environmental features such as snow distribution and microtopography are used to explain the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the encroachment process and the tele-connection among clusters. This study improves our understanding of the vital features and implications of the process of vegetation cover change in the accelerating climate change, as well as the influence of vegetation on hydrological processes in the Arctic.
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