Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal ESSD.
TundraFlux: A database of ecosystem respiration with biotic and abiotic metadata from Arctic and alpine tundra warming experiments
Sarah Schwieger,Jan Dietrich,Mats P. Björkman,Judith M. Sarneel,Bowen Li,Joel White,Inge H. J. Althuizen,Christina Biasi,Robert G. Björk,Hanna Böhner,Brage Bremset Hansen,Michele Carbognani,Giorgio Chiari,Casper T. Christiansen,Elisabeth J. Cooper,Hans Cornelissen,Ludovica D'Imperio,Ellen Dorrepaal,Bo Elberling,Patrick Faubert,Ned Fetcher,T'ai G. W. Forte,Joseph Gaudard,Konstantin Gavazov,Zhen-Huan Guan,Jón Guðmundsson,Siri V. Haugum,Jin-Sheng He,Caitlin Hicks Pries,Mark Hovenden,Simone I. Lang,Gus Jespersen,Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir,Ji Young Jung,Olga Khitun,Birgitte Kortegaard Danielsen,Richard Lamprecht,Mathilde Le Moullec,Hanna Lee,Maija E. Marushchak,Anders Michelsen,Tariq Munir,Eero Myrsky,Kevin K. Newsham,Marion Nyberg,Steven F. Oberbauer,Paulo Olivas,Johan Olofsson,Hlynur Óskarsson,Thomas C. Parker,Matteo Petit Bon,Alessandro Petraglia,Emily Pickering Pedersen,Katrine Raundrup,Nynne R. Ravn,Riikka Rinnan,Heidi Rodenhizer,Ingvild Ryde,Alejandro Salazar,Niels M. Schmidt,Ted Schuur,Sofie Sjögersten,Cecilie Skov Nielsen,Sari Stark,Maria Strack,Jianwu Tang,Sylvia Toet,Anne Tolvanen,Maria Väisänen,Richard Van Logtestijn,Vigdis Vandvik,Carolina Voigt,Josefine Walz,Jeffrey M. Welker,Yuanhe Yang,Henni Ylänne,and Sybryn L. Maes
Abstract. Empirical in-situ measurements of ecosystem carbon dioxide respiration (Reco) in high-latitude ecosystems remain limited, yet they are essential for understanding how tundra carbon cycling responds to climate warming across different environmental contexts and for reducing uncertainties in upscaled carbon budgets and carbon–climate feedbacks. Here, we present the TundraFlux Database, which to date is the most comprehensive synthesis of tundra Reco responses to experimental warming. The database compiles over 24,000 daily-aggregated in-situ Reco measurements from control and plots warmed with open-top chambers at 64 Arctic and alpine tundra sites across 12 countries. By coupling Reco measurements with extensive metadata on climate, vegetation, and soil characteristics, the TundraFlux Database enables the integration of field-scale ecological processes into large-scale models, offering new opportunities to refine global carbon budgets and test predictions of tundra ecosystem responses to warming. Open access to the TundraFlux Database empowers the research community to better quantify and predict how warming alters carbon cycling in Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems.
Received: 29 Dec 2025 – Discussion started: 12 Mar 2026
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Sarah Schwieger,Jan Dietrich,Mats P. Björkman,Judith M. Sarneel,Bowen Li,Joel White,Inge H. J. Althuizen,Christina Biasi,Robert G. Björk,Hanna Böhner,Brage Bremset Hansen,Michele Carbognani,Giorgio Chiari,Casper T. Christiansen,Elisabeth J. Cooper,Hans Cornelissen,Ludovica D'Imperio,Ellen Dorrepaal,Bo Elberling,Patrick Faubert,Ned Fetcher,T'ai G. W. Forte,Joseph Gaudard,Konstantin Gavazov,Zhen-Huan Guan,Jón Guðmundsson,Siri V. Haugum,Jin-Sheng He,Caitlin Hicks Pries,Mark Hovenden,Simone I. Lang,Gus Jespersen,Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir,Ji Young Jung,Olga Khitun,Birgitte Kortegaard Danielsen,Richard Lamprecht,Mathilde Le Moullec,Hanna Lee,Maija E. Marushchak,Anders Michelsen,Tariq Munir,Eero Myrsky,Kevin K. Newsham,Marion Nyberg,Steven F. Oberbauer,Paulo Olivas,Johan Olofsson,Hlynur Óskarsson,Thomas C. Parker,Matteo Petit Bon,Alessandro Petraglia,Emily Pickering Pedersen,Katrine Raundrup,Nynne R. Ravn,Riikka Rinnan,Heidi Rodenhizer,Ingvild Ryde,Alejandro Salazar,Niels M. Schmidt,Ted Schuur,Sofie Sjögersten,Cecilie Skov Nielsen,Sari Stark,Maria Strack,Jianwu Tang,Sylvia Toet,Anne Tolvanen,Maria Väisänen,Richard Van Logtestijn,Vigdis Vandvik,Carolina Voigt,Josefine Walz,Jeffrey M. Welker,Yuanhe Yang,Henni Ylänne,and Sybryn L. Maes
Status: open (until 01 May 2026)
Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor
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Sarah Schwieger,Jan Dietrich,Mats P. Björkman,Judith M. Sarneel,Bowen Li,Joel White,Inge H. J. Althuizen,Christina Biasi,Robert G. Björk,Hanna Böhner,Brage Bremset Hansen,Michele Carbognani,Giorgio Chiari,Casper T. Christiansen,Elisabeth J. Cooper,Hans Cornelissen,Ludovica D'Imperio,Ellen Dorrepaal,Bo Elberling,Patrick Faubert,Ned Fetcher,T'ai G. W. Forte,Joseph Gaudard,Konstantin Gavazov,Zhen-Huan Guan,Jón Guðmundsson,Siri V. Haugum,Jin-Sheng He,Caitlin Hicks Pries,Mark Hovenden,Simone I. Lang,Gus Jespersen,Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir,Ji Young Jung,Olga Khitun,Birgitte Kortegaard Danielsen,Richard Lamprecht,Mathilde Le Moullec,Hanna Lee,Maija E. Marushchak,Anders Michelsen,Tariq Munir,Eero Myrsky,Kevin K. Newsham,Marion Nyberg,Steven F. Oberbauer,Paulo Olivas,Johan Olofsson,Hlynur Óskarsson,Thomas C. Parker,Matteo Petit Bon,Alessandro Petraglia,Emily Pickering Pedersen,Katrine Raundrup,Nynne R. Ravn,Riikka Rinnan,Heidi Rodenhizer,Ingvild Ryde,Alejandro Salazar,Niels M. Schmidt,Ted Schuur,Sofie Sjögersten,Cecilie Skov Nielsen,Sari Stark,Maria Strack,Jianwu Tang,Sylvia Toet,Anne Tolvanen,Maria Väisänen,Richard Van Logtestijn,Vigdis Vandvik,Carolina Voigt,Josefine Walz,Jeffrey M. Welker,Yuanhe Yang,Henni Ylänne,and Sybryn L. Maes
Sarah Schwieger,Jan Dietrich,Mats P. Björkman,Judith M. Sarneel,Bowen Li,Joel White,Inge H. J. Althuizen,Christina Biasi,Robert G. Björk,Hanna Böhner,Brage Bremset Hansen,Michele Carbognani,Giorgio Chiari,Casper T. Christiansen,Elisabeth J. Cooper,Hans Cornelissen,Ludovica D'Imperio,Ellen Dorrepaal,Bo Elberling,Patrick Faubert,Ned Fetcher,T'ai G. W. Forte,Joseph Gaudard,Konstantin Gavazov,Zhen-Huan Guan,Jón Guðmundsson,Siri V. Haugum,Jin-Sheng He,Caitlin Hicks Pries,Mark Hovenden,Simone I. Lang,Gus Jespersen,Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir,Ji Young Jung,Olga Khitun,Birgitte Kortegaard Danielsen,Richard Lamprecht,Mathilde Le Moullec,Hanna Lee,Maija E. Marushchak,Anders Michelsen,Tariq Munir,Eero Myrsky,Kevin K. Newsham,Marion Nyberg,Steven F. Oberbauer,Paulo Olivas,Johan Olofsson,Hlynur Óskarsson,Thomas C. Parker,Matteo Petit Bon,Alessandro Petraglia,Emily Pickering Pedersen,Katrine Raundrup,Nynne R. Ravn,Riikka Rinnan,Heidi Rodenhizer,Ingvild Ryde,Alejandro Salazar,Niels M. Schmidt,Ted Schuur,Sofie Sjögersten,Cecilie Skov Nielsen,Sari Stark,Maria Strack,Jianwu Tang,Sylvia Toet,Anne Tolvanen,Maria Väisänen,Richard Van Logtestijn,Vigdis Vandvik,Carolina Voigt,Josefine Walz,Jeffrey M. Welker,Yuanhe Yang,Henni Ylänne,and Sybryn L. Maes
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Carbone boréal, Département des sciences fondamentales, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 555 boulevard de l’Université, Chicoutimi, QC, G7H 2B1, Canada
Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Lausanne, Switzerland
Climate Impacts Research Centre, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Abisko, Sweden
Zhen-Huan Guan
State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, and College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Jón Guðmundsson
Agricultural University of Iceland, Árleyni 22, 112 Reykjavik, Iceland
Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, and College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Caitlin Hicks Pries
Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA 03755
Mark Hovenden
Biological Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems are warming rapidly, yet measurements of how they release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere remain scarce. We compiled field measurements of ecosystem respiration from warming experiments across tundra regions worldwide. By combining respiration data with information on climate, vegetation, and soils, this database improves our ability to understand and predict how tundra carbon cycling responds to climate warming and feeds back to the global climate system.
Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems are warming rapidly, yet measurements of how they release...