NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: North Slave Region

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

Objective(s): 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); and 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, to evaluate the biogeochemical significance of the stoichiometric differences among plants, soils, and soil microbes in understanding tundra ecosystem responses to climate change.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5660. The objectives of this research project are: 1) To determine the biogeochemical and ecological significance of the discovery that mesic tundra plant growth can be co-limited by nitrogen and phosphorus. 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. 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 are 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 has maintained annually ever since. All experimental manipulations within the gently sloping valley are located within a single area of ~ 4 square kilometers. For 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 PI intends to take down all of the infrastructure and remove it from the site so that there is no long-term 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 research team will continue to communicate the results through several different mechanisms: 1) Media interviews with radio and newspapers. The PI has already done at least two CBC RadioNorth interviews on the work at Daring Lake. In addition, the PI has contributed newspaper articles. 2) The team will work closely with any local assistants that they recruit and spend time explaining the intricacies of the work and its significance for the North. The research team has had a least four local northern students work alongside them in recent years. 3) Research students and the PI will continue to present at large annual conferences such as ArcticNet where representatives of the local NWT communities often attend. For example, the research team presented at ArcticNet 2022 annual meeting in December in 2022. 4) The team will publish the work in international peer-reviewed science journals so that it is accessible to everyone, including the NWT communities. 5) The team will upload copies of relevant publications, theses and PowerPoint talks each year as part of the Aurora Research Permit report process. 6) The team will continue to take advantage of opportunities to give public science talks in Yellowknife. For example, the PI gave two public talks in Yellowknife while passing through in 2017. There was no field work in 2020 due to Covid-restrictions, and the time spent in Yellowknife during late summer of 2021 was severely curtailed because of Covid-restrictions. A member of the research team is in contact with Ecology North to arrange a public talk when he is passing through Yellowknife this summer. 7) Graduate student Dominic Wood has specific plans for communication with NWT stakeholders and community organizations during his main field season in the following summer (i.e., 2023) as outlined above. Furthermore, he and a field assistant intend to participate in the Tundra Science Camp which occurs every summer at Daring Lake and involves northern youth and Indigenous elders. Dominic will lead several talks and activities focussed on his research during the Science Camp. Additionally, he plans to spend several days in Yellowknife giving presentations to schools and community centers. Finally, the team is very committed to raising awareness among scientists of the environmental impacts of doing science, such as this project, so that this research group and others will actively strive to minimize their impacts. One initiative is for scientists to explicitly state in their manuscripts how they have addressed and mitigated some of their impacts. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from July 28, 2023 to August 31, 2023.