Sexual reproduction is an important mechanism shaping plant community composition that will likely be affected by unprecedented rates of climate change in Canada’s North. To anticipate potential changes in plant communities, I aim to understand how changing environmental conditions affect the processes of seed production and seedling emergence, and determine the overall impacts on the reproductive potential of alpine tundra vegetation in Yukon, Canada. I tested the effect of soil warming and nitrogen addition treatments on the timing and success of sexual reproduction of the six tundra species; Dryas octopetala M. Vahl, Salix arctica Pall, Salix reticulata L., Lupinus arcticus L., Carex microchaeta Holm, and Hierochloë alpina (Sw.) R. & S. A summer snow event occurred on 2 July 2012, and I considered the impacts of such an event on the reproductive timing and success of the study species. I also examined the influence of seed availability and soil conditions on initial seedling emergence of three tundra species and three boreal species. I applied seed to natural disturbance sites with bare substrate exposed, and to plots with altered soil temperature and nitrogen availability. Results indicated that reproductive phenology, seed production, and seed viability of tundra species were not affected by increases in soil temperature and/or nitrogen availability but were impacted by the snowfall event. In addition, changes in soil temperature and nitrogen did not affect seedling emergence. Seedling emergence of both boreal and tundra species increased on bare substrates, indicating that surface disturbance creates opportunities for seedling establishment. Overall, my study shows that factors affecting seed production and local disturbance will have greater impact on the success of sexual reproduction in tundra plant communities than changes in soil temperature or nutrients caused by climate change.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-117).

The acid phosphomonoesterase activity associated with two major rooting strategies in arctic tundra plants was examined: that of Eriophorum vagina tum, a dominant plant in tussock tundra ecosystems, with its predominantly non-mycorrhizal root system; and that of ectomycorrhizal roots. Eriophorum has phosphatase activity which is evenly distributed along its root surface, has a pH optimum at soil pH (3.5-4.0), and continues at substantial rates at 1 °C. Inorganic phosphorus inhibits activity only 7 to 19%. In addition, Eriophorum has phosphatase activity associated with all the "below-ground" components of its tussock growth form: dead roots, leaf sheaths, and soil. Plants with higher tissue phosphorus growing in soils with higher available phosphate in general had higher live and dead root, leaf sheath, and soil phosphatase activity in both natural and manipulated sites of higher plant productivity. Yearly and seasonal variation sometimes exceeded differences among treatments, suggesting that enzyme activity would not provide a reliable measure of plant or soil phosphorus levels. Experiments with radiolabeled inositol hexaphosphate showed that Eriophorum is able to hydrolyze and absorb inorganic phosphate from an organic phosphate source. A comparison of enzyme hydrolysis rates with inorganic phosphate assimilation rates indicates that organic phosphate hydrolysis may occur as rapidly as inorganic phosphate absorption. Inorganic phosphate released by root surface phosphatase activity could satisfy approximately 65% of the annual phosphate demand of Eriophorum. Phosphatases of two ectomycorrhizal fungi (Cenococcum geophilum and Entoloma sericeum) responded similarly to growth in axenic culture at 2 or 50 micromolar KH₂PO₄ or sodium inositol hexaphosphate: surface Vmax estimates were significantly greater for 2 micromolar- than for 50 micromolar-grown isolates. The presence of constitutive extracellular soluble phosphatase activity resulted in the appearance of inorganic phosphate in media initially supplied only with organic phosphate. The surface acid phosphatase activity of field-collected ectomycorrhizal roots of arctic Salix and Betula, however, did not respond in a consistent way to differences in soil characteristics. Activity differed more among "color types" or fungal types than among sites of different soil characteristics. / Ph. D.

In Arctic tundra soils pH serves as an important parameter related to several biotic parameters such as, plant and microbial community composition, biodiversity, nutrient dynamics and productivity. Both abiotic and biotic factors, for instance, base saturation (BS) and plant nutrient uptake may exert a control on soil pH, while it is still unclear to what extent different factors can explain soil pH across different tundra vegetation types. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent different abiotic and biotic factors influence soil pH in the humus layer across different tundra vegetation types. To do so, eight different tundra vegetation types of which four were underlaid by permafrost (Arctic Alaska) and four with no permafrost (Arctic Sweden) were studied in detail with regard to different properties affecting soil pH. I found that BS was the main factor controlling soil pH across the different vegetation types regardless if the soil was underlain by permafrost or not. Factors, such as, ionic strength or soil water content could not explain any overall pH variation and did only significantly affect the heath soils. Further, the uptake of the most abundant base cations (Ca2+, Mg2+ and K+) from meadow and heath vegetation revealed a high difference between plant functional groups within the same vegetation types. The higher dominance of slow growing woody species in heath vegetation which had a lower uptake corresponded with a lower BC content (especially (Ca2+), pH and BS in the humus soil relative the meadow meanwhile the content of K+ was more than three times higher in heath. Overall, this study suggests that the degree of neutralization (base saturation) regulates pH either via the influence of bedrock and hydrogeochemistry and/or via plant traits that affects the uptake and turnover of base cations.

This study was initiated to determine the effects of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) on the vegetation and soils of their nesting sites within the Mingan Island National Park Reserve. Both vegetation (species composition, cover, density, growth) and soil characteristics (pH, N, P, K, Ca, Mg) were monitored throughout the 1995 breeding season. Exclosures were installed within the colonies as control sites to prevent gull activity and these were compared to "treatment plots" or areas where gulls were present. All plants located at the study sites were native perennials with the exception of Stellaria, a native annual. Ledum groenlandicum was the only plant species significantly affected by gull activities. Both % cover and shoot growth for Ledum were greater in the exclosures than in the treatment plots over the breeding season. The gulls were also found to significantly increase pH and phosphorous levels in the soil through the deposition of faeces. Gull roosting sites were found to have higher nutrient levels than the nesting areas (treatment plots). The gulls appear to have minor effects over the short term, however the increases in soil nutrients may lead to significant changes over the long term. It is therefore imperative the exclosures remain in place to monitor for any long term changes which may occur.

A detailed study of the water balance of a lichen-heath tundra underlain by permafrost was begun in September 1976 near Schefferville, Quebec. The study was centred on a 0.9 ha hillside and an adjacent 100 ha catchment. The study revealed that the transfer of latent heat by moisture transport occurs during the development of the active layer as well as during freeze-up. The transfer of sensible and latent heat does not have a major impact on the maximum depth of the active layer on hillslopes, but does strongly control the maximum depth of thaw in the valley bottoms. The study also demonstrated that a simple form of the Priestley-Taylor model yields accurate estimates of evapotranspiration from several types of surfaces. A water budget model based on the Priestley-Taylor model gave an accurate estimate of the seasonal runoff from the experimental catchment. A daily water budget model indicated that a significant proportion (31%) of the net runoff (precipitation minus evapotranspiration) is stored within the still-frozen part of the active layer (primarily in the valley bottoms) early in the thaw season. That stored water is released only when the active layer approaches its maximum depth of thaw.

No description available.

No description available.