NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Tags: physical sciences, revegetation, climate change, environmental change, arctic ecosystems, biogeochemistry

Objective(s): To determine the biogeochemical and ecological significance of the discovery that mesic tundra plant growth can be co-limited by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P); and, to predict the likely impacts of climate change, as well as declining caribou and other mammalian herbivory, on tundra deciduous and evergreen shrub abundances.

Project Description: The objectives of this research project are: 1) to determine the biogeochemical and ecological significance of our discovery that mesic tundra plant growth can be co-limited by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P); 2) to predict the likely impacts of not just climate change, but also declining caribou and other mammalian herbivory, on tundra deciduous and evergreen shrub abundances; and, 3) to evaluate the biogeochemical significance of the stoichiometric differences among plants, soils, and soil microbes in understanding tundra ecosystem responses to climate change. To achieve the above research, the research team will use the experimental manipulations of fertilisation, snow fences, greenhouse warming, exclosures that the team set up in 5 x 7 m plots (n= 5 replicates) in the area close to Daring Lake research station in 2004, and that the team have maintained annually ever since. All of the experimental manipulations within the gently sloping valley are located within a single area of ~ 4 square kilometers. In all of the sampling to achieve the above objectives, only small samples (< 400 g of fresh leaves, and < 1 litre of soil) will be taken at each time, and so damage to the overall ecosystem should be negligible. The overall impact is very much confined to the 4 square kilometre area outlined above. Once the research program is completed, the Principal Investigator (PI) intend to take down all of the infrastructure and remove it from the site so that there is no longterm impact. The PI will make sure to dispose of the infrastructure in as sustainable a manner as possible (e.g. recycling all plastic waste; contributing the metal posts to other researchers where appropriate) and generally trying to minimize not just the ecological footprint of the whole experiment while it is ongoing, but also conscious of the need and moral imperative to clean it up in an ecologically sensitive way. The Principal Investigator is genuinely interested in directing that component of the research related to climate change in the Canadian North toward addressing the needs and concerns of indigenous peoples in the region. There is clearly an urgent need for Northern science that has indigenous values, knowledge and concerns right at the core. The PI thinks the challenge over the next decade will be to develop the infrastructure to promote genuine two-way information exchange between a cohort of multidisciplinary scientists and the indigenous communities of the North, and the PI looks forward to being a part of it. In the context of the research at Daring Lake in the NWT, the research team have supported local aboriginal students to assist with summer field work in several years so far, and the team hope to continue this practice when it is feasible and appropriate. Second, the students and the Principal Investigator have given talks in Yellowknife on the research that were aimed at public audiences. The PI will continue this practice, and encourage students whenever possible. Third, the research team have a continuing collaboration with an ecological consultant working from Yellowknife to examine patterns of vegetation change in the Daring Lake region. The team also have had regular contact during relevant projects with researchers at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the NWT. Finally, various locals and aboriginals working as or with GNWT officials visit the Daring Lake field site during summer, and the students and the Principal Investigator make a particular effort to spend time discussing what the team is doing, and getting the teams perspectives on the work and what are the most important ecological questions. Realistically, the research team have little interaction with indigenous or other locals by means other than through the above practices because the nearest community (Wekweti) is more 150 km away from the research site. The research team will continue to communicate the results through several different mechanisms: 1) media interviews with radio and newspapers; 2) work closely with any local assistants that are recruited and spend time explaining the intricacies of the work and its significance for the North; 3) the research students and Principal Investigator will continue to present at large annual conferences such as ArcticNet; 4) the research team will publish the work in international peer-reviewed science journals so that it is accessible to everyone, including the NWT communities; 5) the research team will upload copies of relevant publications, theses and powerpoint talks each year as part of the Aurora Research Permit report process; and, 6) The research team will continue to take advantage of opportunities to give public science talks in Yellowknife. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from April 01, 2019 to October 01, 2019.