- By Eric Taber - July 15, 2012 We’ve entered crunch time, with
students and PIs working feverishly to collect data as the end
of our time in Siberia quickly approaches. Today, Lindsey
Parkinson (Western Washington University) and I spent the
afternoon in the field measuring carbon flux on various
vegetation types. Carbon flux refers to the uptake of CO2
(photosynthesis) and release of CO2 (respiration). Vegetation
can influence carbon flux in a number of ways. First, soil
moisture, temperature and active layer depth all vary with
vegetation type and these factors influence microbial activity
and hence respiration and CO2 release. Additionally, plant
functional types vary in their photosynthetic rate (CO2 uptake)
as well their respiration rate. As the storage of carbon in
Arctic soils is significant, understanding the dynamics of
carbon flux from soil and vegetation will inform our
understanding of the global carbon cycle. By enclosing roughly a
0.5m3 of vegetation in a clear plexiglass enclosure built by Sue