RAPID: Immediate Post-Fire Carbon Balance of Boreal Peat-Wetland Mosaics

由于气候变暖，在冻土带和北方环境中，常年冻土或永久冻土正在融化。在变暖的世界里，火灾也变得更加频繁和激烈，影响到这些景观与大气交换温室气体的方式。虽然以前的研究都是在火灾发生后进行的，但这项研究将提供对同一地点火灾前后生态系统功能的了解。这项研究将在加拿大西北地区北部森林泥炭地的温室气体测量点进行，该泥炭地被2022年10月烧毁的永久冻土和邻近的湿地覆盖。该站点有一个长达9年的陆地和大气之间二氧化碳、甲烷和水交换的数据记录。这项研究将涉及与运营该研究网站的Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨Kų́ę́First Nation的密切工作关系。人们对北方生态系统中永久冻土融化和火灾的共同影响知之甚少。随着火灾在高纬度生态系统中变得越来越普遍和严重，了解火灾和永久冻土融化的联合反应对于理解陆地-大气碳交换至关重要。加拿大西北地区的一个碳通量监测点于2022年10月被烧毁，这为研究同一地区火灾前后的碳通量提供了难得的机会。调查人员将重建碳通量监测塔，以测量二氧化碳和甲烷在陆地和大气中的交换，并进行一系列环境测量，以了解火灾前后是什么驱动了碳通量。研究人员将与运营该研究网站的Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨Kų́ę́第一民族合作，这种合作将促进科学家和第一民族之间强有力的知识交流。这一奖项反映了国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Due to climate warming, perennially frozen soil, or permafrost, is thawing in tundra and boreal environments. Fires are also becoming more frequent and intense in a warmer world, affecting how these landscapes exchange greenhouse gasses with the atmosphere. While previous studies have been conducted after fire, this study will provide an understanding of ecosystem function, both before and after fire at the same site. The study will take place at a greenhouse gas measuring site in a boreal forest peatland underlain by permafrost and adjacent wetlands in the Northwest Territories, Canada, that burned in October 2022. The site has a 9- year data record of carbon dioxide, methane, and water exchange between the land and the atmosphere. The study will involve a close working relationship with the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation, who run the research site. The co-impacts of permafrost thaw and fire in boreal ecosystems is poorly understood. With fires becoming more common and severe in high-latitude ecosystems, understanding the joint response of fire and permafrost thaw is vital to understanding the land-atmosphere exchange of carbon. A carbon flux monitoring site in the Northwest Territories, Canada, was burned in October 2022, presenting a rare opportunity to study pre- and post-fire fluxes over the same landscape. The investigators will rebuild the carbon flux monitoring tower to measure the land-atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide and methane, and a suite of environmental measurements to understand what drives fluxes before and after fire. The investigators will collaborate with the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation, who run the research site, and the collaboration will foster a strong knowledge exchange between the scientists and the First Nations peoples.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.