Decreased Snow Cover Stimulates Under-Ice Primary Producers but Impairs Methanotrophic Capacity.

ABSTRACT: Climate change scenarios anticipate decreased spring snow cover in boreal and subarctic regions. Forest lakes are abundant in these regions and substantial contributors of methane emissions. To investigate the effect of reduced snow cover, we experimentally removed snow from an anoxic frozen lake. We observed that the removal of snow increased light penetration through the ice, increasing water temperature and modifying microbial composition in the different depths. Chlorophyll a and b concentrations increased in the upper water column, suggesting activation of algal primary producers. At the same time, Chlorobiaceae, one of the key photosynthetic bacterial families in anoxic lakes, shifted to lower depths. Moreover, a decrease in the relative abundance of methanotrophs within the bacteria

SUBMITTER: Garcia SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6327105 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature