Vegetation Mediates Soil Temperature and Moisture in Arctic-Alpine Environments

Soil temperature and moisture are key determinants of abiotic and biotic processes in arctic-alpine regions. They are important links to understanding complex ecosystem dynamics under changing climate. The aims of this study were to (1) quantify fine-scale soil temperature and soil moisture variation, and (2) assess the influence of vegetation on soil temperature and moisture patterns in a northern European arctic-alpine environment. Inclusion of vegetation variables significantly improved models of soil temperature and moisture, despite abiotic variables (local topography and soil properties) being the most influential predictors. Temperature varied by ≥5 °C and moisture by ≥50% (volumetric water content) over very short distances (≥ 1 m), reflecting the extreme spatial heterogeneity of thermal and hydrological conditions in these systems. These results thus highlight the biotic mediation of changes in abiotic conditions, showing how vegetation can strongly affect local habitat conditions at fine spatial scales in arctic-alpine environments.