Pilot Studies of the Unique Highland Palsa Mire in Western Sayan (Tuva Republic, Russian Federation)

In contrast to the well-studied West Siberian sector of frozen bogs in the Russian Arctic, the frozen mound bogs (so-called “palsas”) on the highlands of Southern Siberia have not yet been studied, but they are suspected to be even more sensitive to ongoing climate change. This article provides the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atmosphere 2022-01, Vol.13 (1), p.32
Main Authors: Kirpotin, Sergey N., Kvasnikova, Zoia N., Potapova, Sophia A., Volkova, Irina I., Volkov, Igor V., Pyak, Andrei I., Byzaakay, Arisiya A., Kolesnichenko, Larisa G., Lushchaeva, Inna V., Khovalyg, Aldynay O., Kuzhevskaia, Irina V., Chursin, Vladislav V., Peregon, Anna M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
20th century
Biodiversity
Bogs
Chemical composition
Climate change
Cryogenic properties
ecosystem diversity
Ecosystems
Environmental science
highland palsa mire
Laboratory methods
Landforms
Landscape
Mires
Mountains
natural landscapes/ecosystems
Palsas
Peat
Peatlands
Permafrost
Rivers
Sediments
Soil
Soil erosion
Soil water
Taiga & tundra
Topography
Wetlands
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Summary:In contrast to the well-studied West Siberian sector of frozen bogs in the Russian Arctic, the frozen mound bogs (so-called “palsas”) on the highlands of Southern Siberia have not yet been studied, but they are suspected to be even more sensitive to ongoing climate change. This article provides the pilot study on palsa mire Kara-Sug in the highland areas of Western Sayan mountain system, Tuva Republic. The study focuses on the current state of palsa mire and surrounding landscapes, providing wide range of ecological characteristics while describing ongoing transformations of natural landscapes under a changing climate. The study used a variety of field and laboratory methods: the integrated landscape-ecological approach, the study of peat deposits, geobotanical analysis, and modern analysis of the chemical composition of water, peat, and soils. The study shows that highland palsa mires are distinguished by their compactness and high variety of cryogenic landforms leading to high floristic and ecosystem diversity compared with lowland palsa mires. This information brings new insights and contributes to a better understanding of extrazonal highland palsa mires, which remain a “white spot” in the global environmental sciences.
ISSN:2073-4433
2073-4433
DOI:10.3390/atmos13010032