Montane ecosystems are characterized by higher mean annual precipitation (MAP) and lower mean annual temperatures (MATs) compared to sea-level ecosystems, making montane ecosystems more vulnerable to a changing global climate. More specifically, temporary water bodies in high elevation landscapes, such as montane wetlands or wet meadows, are potential “hotspots” for increased microbe-mediated biogeochemical processes in the context of global climate change. There is a need for increased understanding of microbial structure-function dynamics in montane wetlands as a function of elevation (MAT, MAP) and within the context of a changing climate. To do this, we quantified soil abiotic and microbial variables, and N2O and CH4 emission rates along inundated-dry transects from montane wetlands located at three different elevations in the Snowy Range Mountains in Wyoming across three seasons (winter, summer, fall).
Results/Conclusions
Currently, we have uncovered significantly higher soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC) in wetland samples from the lower elevation site relative to the other two sites following a winter sampling period, though soil moisture did not vary. There were also significant differences in soil pH and EC among inundated, transition, and dry sites for wetlands, though differences varied among elevations. Preliminary analysis of microbial extracellular enzyme activity data did not detect any differences among elevation sites, nor among transect locations within each site. Measurements of soil nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emission rates, denitrification and methanogenesis gene abundances, and characterization of microbial community composition from current and further sampling periods are pending. Results will contribute to our understanding of the short term (seasonal) and long term (annual) effects of a changing climate on microbial structure-function relationships in these sensitive montane wetland systems across elevations.