Ecosystem Gross Primary Productivity After Autumn Snowfall and Melt Events in a Mountain Meadow

Vegetation productivity is increasing in the U.S. Northern Great Plains but decreasing in some nearby Northern Rocky Mountain grasslands due to increases in aridity. It is unclear if decreases to montane grassland productivity from drying autumns can be partly offset by late-season green-ups after precipitation events. These include the multiple snowfall and snowmelt periods that often characterize the summer-to-winter transition, but are difficult to observe due to logistical constraints. Here, we quantify changes to vegetation indices and ecosystem carbon uptake that occurs after snowfall and melt in climatological autumn in a montane grassland in Montana, USA using eddy covariance, phenological camera, and remote sensing analyses. Carbon dioxide flux follows a diurnal pattern after autumn snowmelt events despite overall ecosystem C loss, suggesting that post-snowmelt photosynthesis helps dampen C loss during autumn and provides fresh photosynthate to support ecosystem functioning. Light-saturated photosynthesis after three snow events was not statistically different than before snowfall (similar to 6 mu mol CO2 m(-2) s(-1) in 2016 and similar to 2.5 mu mol CO2 m(-2) s(-1) in 2017). Observations are consistent with the notion that canopy photosynthesis is resistant, rather than resilient, to autumn snow. MODIS indicates that post-snow greenups can occur, but not every year. Such events likely play a small role in the annual ecosystem carbon balance but may be disproportionately important for organisms faced with dwindling late-season forage. Future efforts should seek to understand the community and ecosystem consequences of vegetation functioning during autumn as part of an expanded effort to understand phenological changes during this under-studied and changing time of year.

Automated summary

Vegetation productivity is increasing in the U.S. Northern Great Plains but decreasing in nearby Northern Rocky Mountain grasslands due to increased aridity. It is unclear if the decrease in productivity can be offset by late-season green-ups after precipitation events.