Response of peatlands in the southern cryolithozone of Western Siberia to contemporary climatic changes

Aim. To evaluate the response of frozen peatlands in Western Siberia to modern climatic changes.

Methodology. Soil temperature was measured at two sites in the zone of sporadic perma­frost — near the town of Tarko-Sale, YNAO, and in the territory of the Numto Nature Park (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra). The active layer thickness was measured in ac­cordance with the circumpolar active layer monitoring (CALM) program. Soil temperature changes on different types of peatlands were assessed. Data from meteorological observato­ries were obtained to determine the dependence of ground temperature on meteorological parameters such as air temperature and snow depth.

Results. In the southern cryolithozone of Western Siberia, there has been a stable trend to­wards an increase in atmospheric air temperature and an increase in snow cover thickness in recent decades, which poses a threat to permafrost stability. Increased snow retention during successional changes in vegetation (restoration of the tree layer) causes a rapid increase in the temperature of the ground layer and a subsidence of the permafrost table. Coniferous northern taiga forests with dwarf birch-lichen-shrub-moss cover are currently an indicator of thawed soils, in contrast to the data of 50 years ago, when this type of vegetation indi­cated the presence of high-temperature permafrost. At the depth of zero annual amplitudes, the permafrost temperature in the Tarko-Sale area increased by 0,2°C over a 10-year period, while in the Numto area, no increase in permafrost temperature was noted over 5 years of observations. Thus, warm permafrost slowly responds to contemporary global warming. The response of peatlands depends on the morphological features of the peatlands. Under exten­sive flat-mound peatlands, the permafrost temperature is relatively stable. The permafrost temperature of narrow peat ridges of lake-bog complexes is close to the melting point; these will be the first to melt in the event of further warming.

Research implications. The study of the temperature regime of frozen soils allows us to predict the stability of geosystems under the climate warming and to develop methods for preserving engineering constructions. The results obtained expand the possibilities of ana­lyzing the relationships between land covers and geocryological parameters.

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