Effects of Increased Season Length on Plant Phenology, Community Composition, Productivity, and Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes in Alaskan Tundra: Implications for Climate Warming

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ABSTRACT OPP-9615845 OBERBAUER, STEPHEN FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY This project is an extension of a previous research program to investigate the effects of potential global warming on Arctic tundra. This project is one component of a larger US. effort to contribute to the International Tundra Experiment that is examining the possible impact of global climate change on tundra growth. The results of this research will contribute to a coordinated international effort to determine if a warming climate will result in an increase in carbon dioxide flux from the tundra into the atmosphere. The contribution of this particular project to the international program is to look at the effect of climate warming on the length of the growing season. A longer growing season could result from a warmer climate and a concomitant increase in carbon uptake in the tundra root system. These results are critical to consider along with other experimental results on climate impacts on the tundra so that researchers may be able assess all of the factors that could lead to fundamental changes in the tundra ecosystem as a result of global change.