NUtrient stocks in the Canadian permafrost - SNU

Home laboratory: Soil-Agrosystem-Hydrosystem Interaction Laboratory (LISAH), INRAE, France

Host laboratory: Centre for Northern Studies, Université Laval, Canada
 

Duration: February–March 2024

The Arctic is warming at a rate four times higher than the global mean, which is concerning given that the permafrost stores large quantities of carbon and nutrients. Global warming is degrading the permafrost and changing plant communities. These shifts may potentially increase greenhouse gas emissions and the primary productivity of permafrost ecosystems. Thus, it is essential to understand how increases in nutrient availability may shape how permafrost ecosystems respond to climate change. This mobility project is associated with PEACE, one of FairCarboN’s competitively funded research projects. My goal is to address the following question: what is the availability of nutrients stored in permafrost? Analyses will be carried out on samples collected by members of the Centre for Northern Studies (CEN) that have been stored at Université Laval. Our project collaborators at CEN possess considerable expertise in climatology and periglacial geomorphology. Consequently, this mobility project will allow us to (1) extract nutrients stored in the ice and solid soil matrix of the permafrost that will be analysed in PEACE consortium laboratories and (2) identify the spatial determinants of nutrient stocks and availability.