Addition of dissolved inorganic carbon stimulates snow algae primary productivity on glacially eroded carbonate bedrock in the Medicine Bow Mountains, WY, USA.

ABSTRACT: Snow is a critical component of the Earth system. High-elevation snow can persist into the spring, summer, and early fall and hosts a diverse array of life, including snow algae. Due in part to the presence of pigments, snow algae lower albedo and accelerate snow melt, which has led to increasing interest in identifying and quantifying the environmental factors that constrain their distribution. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration is low in supraglacial snow on Cascade stratovolcanoes, and snow algae primary productivity can be stimulated through DIC addition. Here we asked if inorganic carbon would be a limiting nutrient for snow hosted on glacially eroded carbonate bedrock, which could provide an additional source of DIC. We assayed snow algae communities for nutrient and DIC

SUBMITTER: Hamilton TL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10289208 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature