Changing Southern/Lower Limits of Latitudinal/Mountain Permafrost (SLLP/LLMP) in Northeast China: An Overview

Huijun Jin, Shuai Huang, Xiaoying Jin, Junhe Liang, Xiaoying Li, Anyuan Li, Lanzhi Lü, Raul‐David Şerban, Leonid S. Gagarin and Yongping Wang

Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 2025, vol. 36, issue 3, 563-579

Abstract: This paper investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics and their changes of the southern limit of latitudinal permafrost (SLLP) and the lower limit of mountain permafrost (LLMP) in Northeast China, emphasizing the roles of climate change and human activities. Permafrost in this region is primarily distributed in the northern parts of the Da and Xiao Xing’anling mountain ranges and in the upper parts of the Changbai Mountains and at the summits of the Huanggangliang Mountains in the southern part of the Da Xing’anling Mountain Range. Permafrost degradation, ongoing since at least the local Holocene Megathermal Period (8.5–6.0 ka BP), has intermittently reversed during cooler climatic intervals but continues to exert significant impacts on regional environments, infrastructure stability, and carbon storage. Notably, the northward retreats of the SLLP since the mid‐19th century underscore the sustained nature of this degradation, especially in southern patchy permafrost zones increasingly sensitive to warming and anthropogenic influences. LLMP variability is similarly shaped by a combination of climatic, hydrometeorological, ecological, and topographic factors. The distributions of SLLP and LLMP are further complicated by the presence of relict and sporadic permafrost, as well as the hydrothermal effects of vegetation and snow cover. Addressing the challenges of mapping and modeling boreal permafrost in Northeast China requires comprehensive field investigations, long‐term in situ monitoring via station networks, and advanced numerical modeling. Emerging technologies, including satellite and airborne remote sensing (RS), geographic information systems (GIS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), surface geophysical methods, and big data analytics, offer new possibilities for enhancing permafrost monitoring and mapping. Integrating these tools with conventional field studies can significantly improve our understanding of permafrost dynamics. Continued efforts in monitoring, technological innovation, multidisciplinary collaboration, and international cooperation are essential to meet the challenges posed by permafrost degradation in a changing climate.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2285

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:perpro:v:36:y:2025:i:3:p:563-579

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Permafrost and Periglacial Processes from John Wiley & Sons
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().