| 1. |
- Barrio, I. C., et al.
(författare)
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Biotic interactions mediate patterns of herbivore diversity in the Arctic
- 2016
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Ingår i: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 25:9, s. 1108-1118
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: Understanding the forces shaping biodiversity patterns, particularly for groups of organisms with key functional roles, will help predict the responses of ecosystems to environmental changes. Our aim was to evaluate the relative role of different drivers in shaping the diversity patterns of vertebrate herbivores, a group of organisms exerting a strong trophic influence in terrestrial Arctic ecosystems. This biome, traditionally perceived as homogeneous and low in biodiversity, includes wide variation in biotic and physical conditions and is currently undergoing major environmental change. Location: The Arctic (including the High Arctic, Low Arctic and Subarctic) MethodsWe compiled available data on vertebrate (birds and mammals) herbivore distribution at a pan-Arctic scale, and used eight variables that represent the most relevant hypotheses for explaining patterns of species richness. We used range maps rasterized on a 100kmx100km equal-area grid to analyse richness patterns of all vertebrate herbivore species combined, and birds and mammalian herbivores separately. Results: Overall, patterns of herbivore species richness in the Arctic were positively related to plant productivity (measured using the normalized difference vegetation index) and to the species richness of predators. Greater species richness of herbivores was also linked to areas with a higher mean annual temperature. Species richness of avian and mammalian herbivores were related to the distance from the coast, with the highest avian richness in coastal areas and mammalian richness peaking further inland. Main conclusions: Herbivore richness in the Arctic is most strongly linked to primary productivity and the species richness of predators. Our results suggest that biotic interactions, with either higher or lower trophic levels or both, can drive patterns of species richness at a biome-wide scale. Rapid ongoing environmental changes in the Arctic are likely to affect herbivore diversity through impacts on both primary productivity and changes in predator communities via range expansion of predators from lower latitudes.
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| 2. |
- Barrio, I. C., et al.
(författare)
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Developing common protocols to measure tundra herbivory across spatial scales
- 2022
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Ingår i: Arctic Science. - : Canadian Science Publishing. - 2368-7460. ; 8:3, s. 638-679
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding and predicting large-scale ecological responses to global environmental change requires comparative studies across geographic scales with coordinated efforts and standardized methodologies. We designed, applied, and assessed standardized protocols to measure tundra herbivory at three spatial scales: plot, site (habitat), and study area (landscape). The plot-and site-level protocols were tested in the field during summers 2014–2015 at 11 sites, nine of them consisting of warming experimental plots included in the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX). The study area protocols were assessed during 2014–2018 at 24 study areas across the Arctic. Our protocols provide comparable and easy to implement methods for assessing the intensity of invertebrate herbivory within ITEX plots and for characterizing vertebrate herbivore communities at larger spatial scales. We discuss methodological constraints and make recommendations for how these protocols can be used and how sampling effort can be optimized to obtain comparable estimates of herbivory, both at ITEX sites and at large landscape scales. The application of these protocols across the tundra biome will allow characterizing and comparing herbivore communities across tundra sites and at ecologically relevant spatial scales, providing an important step towards a better understanding of tundra ecosystem responses to large-scale environmental change.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Rixen, C., et al.
(författare)
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Winters are changing: snow effects on Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems
- 2022
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Ingår i: Arctic Science. - : Canadian Science Publishing. - 2368-7460. ; 8:3, s. 572-608
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Snow is an important driver of ecosystem processes in cold biomes. Snow accumulation determines ground temperature, light conditions, and moisture availability during winter. It also affects the growing season's start and end, and plant access to moisture and nutrients. Here, we review the current knowledge of the snow cover's role for vegetation, plant-animal interactions, permafrost conditions, microbial processes, and biogeochemical cycling. We also compare studies of natural snow gradients with snow experimental manipulation studies to assess time scale difference of these approaches. The number of tundra snow studies has increased considerably in recent years, yet we still lack a comprehensive overview of how altered snow conditions will affect these ecosystems. Specifically, we found a mismatch in the timing of snowmelt when comparing studies of natural snow gradients with snow manipulations. We found that snowmelt timing achieved by snow addition and snow removal manipulations (average 7.9 days advance and 5.5 days delay, respectively) were substantially lower than the temporal variation over natural spatial gradients within a given year (mean range 56 days) or among years (mean range 32 days). Differences between snow study approaches need to be accounted for when projecting snow dynamics and their impact on ecosystems in future climates.
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| 5. |
- Soininen, E.M., et al.
(författare)
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Location of studies and evidence of effects of herbivory on Arctic vegetation: a systematic map
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental Evidence. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 2047-2382. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Herbivores modify the structure and function of tundra ecosystems. Understanding their impacts is necessary to assess the responses of these ecosystems to ongoing environmental changes. However, the effects of herbivores on plants and ecosystem structure and function vary across the Arctic. Strong spatial variation in herbivore effects implies that the results of individual studies on herbivory depend on local conditions, i.e., their ecological context. An important first step in assessing whether generalizable conclusions can be produced is to identify the existing studies and assess how well they cover the underlying environmental conditions across the Arctic. This systematic map aims to identify the ecological contexts in which herbivore impacts on vegetation have been studied in the Arctic. Specifically, the primary question of the systematic map was: “What evidence exists on the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation?”.Methods: We used a published systematic map protocol to identify studies addressing the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation. We conducted searches for relevant literature in online databases, search engines and specialist websites. Literature was screened to identify eligible studies, defined as reporting primary data on herbivore impacts on Arctic plants and plant communities. We extracted information on variables that describe the ecological context of the studies, from the studies themselves and from geospatial data. We synthesized the findings narratively and created a Shiny App where the coded data are searchable and variables can be visually explored.Review findings: We identified 309 relevant articles with 662 studies (representing different ecological contexts or datasets within the same article). These studies addressed vertebrate herbivory seven times more often than invertebrate herbivory. Geographically, the largest cluster of studies was in Northern Fennoscandia. Warmer and wetter parts of the Arctic had the largest representation, as did coastal areas and areas where the increase in temperature has been moderate. In contrast, studies spanned the full range of ecological context variables describing Arctic vertebrate herbivore diversity and human population density and impact.Conclusions: The current evidence base might not be sufficient to understand the effects of herbivores on Arctic vegetation throughout the region, as we identified clear biases in the distribution of herbivore studies in the Arctic and a limited evidence base on invertebrate herbivory. In particular, the overrepresentation of studies in areas with moderate increases in temperature prevents robust generalizations about the effects of herbivores under different climatic scenarios.
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| 6. |
- Tedersoo, L., et al.
(författare)
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The Global Soil Mycobiome consortium dataset for boosting fungal diversity research
- 2021
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Ingår i: Fungal Diversity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1560-2745 .- 1878-9129. ; 111, s. 573-588
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fungi are highly important biotic components of terrestrial ecosystems, but we still have a very limited understanding about their diversity and distribution. This data article releases a global soil fungal dataset of the Global Soil Mycobiome consortium (GSMc) to boost further research in fungal diversity, biogeography and macroecology. The dataset comprises 722,682 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) derived from PacBio sequencing of full-length ITS and 18S-V9 variable regions from 3200 plots in 108 countries on all continents. The plots are supplied with geographical and edaphic metadata. The OTUs are taxonomically and functionally assigned to guilds and other functional groups. The entire dataset has been corrected by excluding chimeras, index-switch artefacts and potential contamination. The dataset is more inclusive in terms of geographical breadth and phylogenetic diversity of fungi than previously published data. The GSMc dataset is available over the PlutoF repository.
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