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April 15th, 2025
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University of Michigan
ecology
biorxiv

Earlier snowmelt reduces the strength of carbon sink in montane meadows

Vought, O.Open in Google Scholar•Kivlin, S.Open in Google Scholar•Shulman, H.Open in Google Scholar•Sorensen, P.Open in Google Scholar•Inouye, D.Open in Google Scholar•Ibanez, I.Open in Google Scholar•Falb, P.Open in Google Scholar•Rand, K.Open in Google Scholar•Classen, A.Open in Google Scholar

Warming temperatures are changing winters, leading to earlier snowmelt. This shift can accelerate or extend the growing season, which in turn may affect various plant-mediated ecosystem functions. Despite its relevance in the carbon cycle, we still know little about how earlier snowmelt impacts the carbon balance in ecosystems over the growing season. Most studies rely on interannual variability in snowmelt timing, making it difficult to isolate snowmelt effects from other confounding variables, e.g, temperature and moisture anomalies. To address this uncertainty, we investigated how advancing snowmelt affects the carbon cycling of montane meadows. We experimentally advanced the snowmelt date by approximately nine days and collected data every two weeks throughout the growing season, including net ecosystem exchange (NEE), gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (ER), plant composition, and shrub, graminoid, and forb biomass. Early in the season, GPP was higher in the early snowmelt plots, though this effect decreased as the season progressed. Our modeling of cumulative NEE showed that earlier snowmelt reduced the carbon sink strength by around 70%, likely due to drier soils. Graminoid biomass was 47% higher in plots with earlier snowmelt, but there was no change in total biomass. As winters warm and snowmelt occurs earlier, plant productivity will shift earlier in the growing season. However, reduced soil moisture during the summer will limit productivity, weakening the overall carbon sink and altering the carbon balance in montane meadows.

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