Boreal Woodland Organic Frozen Slopes
Scenario model
Current ecosystem state
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Management practices/drivers
Select a transition or restoration pathway
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Transition T1A
Disturbance leads to the thermal erosion of ground ice and the subsidence of soil resulting in formation of thermokarst depressions.
More details -
No transition or restoration pathway between the selected states has been described
Target ecosystem state
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Description
The reference plant community is dwarf tree scrub woodland (Viereck et al. 1992) with the dominant tree being black spruce. There are three plant communities within the reference state related to fire.
Submodel
State 2
Thermokarst State
Description
Thermokarst occurs due to the thermal erosion of ice-rich permafrost in soil after disturbances such as fire events or land clearing. For this site, pits and gulleys that cut up a footslope are common landforms associated with thermokarst. While thermokarst can be readily observed, details related to thermokarst succession are poorly understood. After an unknown timeframe, thermokarst depressions could theoretically revert back to plant communities associated with the reference state (Myers-Smith et al. 2008). However, the timeframe for recovery is likely outside the scope of typical land management priorities. At this time, restoration back to reference conditions is not considered within the state-and-transition model.
Thermokarst vegetation is commonly characterized as open low scrub (Viereck et al. 1992). Associated soils pond and have a persistent high water table. The thermokarst state has one documented plant community.
Future data collection efforts and research would likely enhance information about existing plant communities within this state and allow for better understanding of the potential transitions from one community or state to another.
Submodel
Mechanism
Land clearing or fire can thaw permafrost and the thermal erosion of ground ice results in the settling of soil, which is thermokarst. Subsidence can be significant with collapsed pits going down and spanning across several feet.
Model keys
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