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Permafrost Degradation as a Supporting Factor for the Biodiversity of Tundra Ecosystems

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Abstract

Highly detailed images acquired using unmanned aerial imaging made it possible to describe the structural features of a certain type of thermokarst depression. These depressions developed in edoma deposits in the southern part of the typical tundra subzone in the Lena Delta. The geomorphology and vegetation of the model depression are characterized by a combination of GIS analysis and ground survey. Detailed mapping has shown that the surface of the depression bottom consists of a “baidjarakh” field covered by the complex vegetation of highly productive plant communities dominated by grasses and graminoids. A comparison of satellite images and topographic maps from different years has shown that the depression appeared from a shallow thermokarst lake drained no later than 40 years ago. The depression terrain and vegetation are determined by its origin and the composition of the surface geological substrate. Depression vegetation is quite a contrast to zonal tundra in regards to its structure and floristic composition. It contains few species which tend to be more typical for southern distribution. Such spots serve as feeding places for herbivorous animals and, in the past, may have been an important part of the Pleistocene megafauna forage. Thermokarst events were typical for the ice-complex through the whole period of its formation, but might differ in intensity and area depending on climate conditions. Nowadays, the size and lifetime of thermokarst lakes depends on their position in the terrain and the thermoerosion intensity. In the tundra landscape, thermokarst plays an important role in the creation of new habitats and biodiversity support for plants and animals.

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Funding

This study was carried out as part of State Task of the Central Siberian Botanical Garden, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, no. AAAA-A17-117012610052-2 and the state assignment of the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, with partial financial support from the integration project of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (“Integrated Characterization of the Cryolithozone Based on Remote Sensing, Geological, Geophysical, and Geobotanical Data and Soil Studies Carried out on the Basis of the Samoilovsky Island Scientific Research Station (2018–2020)”) and Russian Foundation for Basic Research grant 18-55-11003 AF_t “Assessing the Circumpolar Balance of N2O.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Siberian Botanical Garden, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia

    N. N. Lashchinskiy

  2. Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia

    N. N. Lashchinskiy, A. A. Kartoziia & A. N. Faguet

  3. Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia

    A. A. Kartoziia

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  1. N. N. Lashchinskiy
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Correspondence to N. N. Lashchinskiy.

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Lashchinskiy, N.N., Kartoziia, A.A. & Faguet, A.N. Permafrost Degradation as a Supporting Factor for the Biodiversity of Tundra Ecosystems. Contemp. Probl. Ecol. 13, 401–411 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995425520040071

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