| 1. |
- Kaarlejärvi, Elina, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Concurrent biotic interactions influence plant performance at their altitudinal distribution margins
- 2014
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Ingår i: Oikos. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0030-1299 .- 1600-0706. ; 123:8, s. 943-952
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent studies have shown that biotic interactions can shape species’ distributions, but empirical data on multiple biotic interactions are scarce. Therefore, we examined effects of plant-plant and plant-herbivore interactions on plant survival, growth and reproduction at different altitudes. For these purposes we conducted a factorial neighbor removal and large herbivore exclusion experiment with six transplant species (three tall forbs with their main distribution at low altitudes and three small forbs with their main distribution at high altitudes) on Låktačohkka Mountain, northern Sweden, replicated at two altitudes (ca. 600 and 900 m a.s.l.) and consequently a 2.1 °C difference in summer air temperatures. Overall transplant survival was 93%. Two out of three tall forbs grew better at low than at high altitudes, while no significant differences in growth between altitudes were found for any of the three small forbs. Since the main difference in abiotic conditions between the altitudes was most likely in temperature (as the sites were topographically and edaphically matched as closely as possible), this result indicates that climatic warming could induce upward migration of tall low-altitude forbs. Negative plant-plant interactions prevailed at both altitudes, and we found indications that competition may set the lower altitudinal limits of some small tundra forbs. Thus, increased competition in response to climate warming may potentially shift the lower margins of high-altitude forbs’ distributions upward. Large mammalian grazers reduced the growth of tall forbs and enhanced the flowering of small forbs, and grazers could thus at least partly counteract the anticipated warming-induced distribution shifts.
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| 2. |
- Kaarlejärvi, Elina, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of Warming on Shrub Abundance and Chemistry Drive Ecosystem-Level Changes in a Forest-Tundra Ecotone
- 2012
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Ingår i: Ecosystems. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-9840 .- 1435-0629. ; 15:8, s. 1219-1233
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tundra vegetation is responding rapidly to on-going climate warming. The changes in plant abundance and chemistry might have cascading effects on tundra food webs, but an integrated understanding of how the responses vary between habitats and across environmental gradients is lacking. We assessed responses in plant abundance and plant chemistry to warmer climate, both at species and community levels, in two different habitats. We used a long-term and multisite warming (OTC) experiment in the Scandinavian forest-tundra ecotone to investigate (i) changes in plant community composition and (ii) responses in foliar nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon-based secondary compound concentrations in two dominant evergreen dwarf-shrubs (Empetrum hermaphroditum and Vaccinium vitis-idaea) and two deciduous shrubs (Vaccinium myrtillus and Betula nana). We found that initial plant community composition, and the functional traits of these plants, will determine the responsiveness of the community composition, and thus community traits, to experimental warming. Although changes in plant chemistry within species were minor, alterations in plant community composition drive changes in community-level nutrient concentrations. In view of projected climate change, our results suggest that plant abundance will increase in the future, but nutrient concentrations in the tundra field layer vegetation will decrease. These effects are large enough to have knock-on consequences for major ecosystem processes like herbivory and nutrient cycling. The reduced food quality could lead to weaker trophic cascades and weaker top down control of plant community biomass and composition in the future. However, the opposite effects in forest indicate that these changes might be obscured by advancing treeline forests.
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| 3. |
- Kaarlejärvi, Elina, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Herbivory prevents positive responses of lowland plants to warmer and more fertile conditions at high altitudes
- 2013
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Ingår i: Functional Ecology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0269-8463 .- 1365-2435. ; 27:5, s. 1244-1253
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Warm-adapted low elevation plants are expected to exhibit considerable range shifts to higher altitudes and latitudes as a result of climate warming and increased nutrient loads. However, empirical studies show that the magnitude and direction of plant responses are highly species- and site-specific, suggesting that several additional drivers interact with warmer climate.We experimentally tested the interactive effects of climate warming, mammalian herbivory and soil fertility on low elevation plants. Seedlings of three warm-adapted lowland forbs (Epilobium angustifolium, Silene dioica and Solidago virgaurea) were transplanted to an open tundra site with native mountain tundra vegetation, and the effects of full factorial combinations of herbivore exclosures, warming and fertilization on transplant survival, growth and flowering were studied for two growing seasons. We also investigated the response of native vegetation biomass to the same treatments and compared it with the responses of transplanted lowland forbs.Effects of both warming and fertilization on the transplanted lowland forbs strongly hinged on herbivore exclusion, resulting in 2–13-fold increase in biomass in warmed and fertilized plots without herbivores compared with warmed and fertilized plots with herbivores present, the magnitude depending on the species. While warm-adapted transplants benefited from warming, the native tundra plant community biomass did not respond to warming treatment.Our results show that grazing limits the growth of transplants under warmer and more productive conditions, indicating that the expansion of lowland plant species to higher altitudes with warming may be hampered by mammalian herbivory. Furthermore, our results also suggest that migration of warm-adapted species into lightly grazed high-altitude tundra ecosystems might transform these communities to be more responsive to warmer climate and nutrient loads. Studies that do not consider species' upward shifts from lower altitudes might thus have underestimated vegetation responses to global warming, as well as the potential of herbivory to influence these responses.
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| 4. |
- Kaarlejärvi, Elina, 1980-
(författare)
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The role of herbivores in mediating responses of tundra ecosystems to climate change
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Arctic areas are warming more rapidly than other parts of the world. Increasing temperatures are predicted to result in shrubification, higher productivity, declining species diversity and new species invasions to the tundra. Changes in species diversity and plant community composition are likely to alter ecosystem functions with potential consequences for human population also at lower latitudes. Thus, in order to better predict the effects of the rapid arctic warming, we need knowledge on how plant communities respond to a warmer climate. Here, I investigate the effects of climate warming on tundra plant communities and focus on the role of mammalian herbivores in mediating these responses. I examined the role of herbivores by incorporating herbivore manipulations to short- and long-term warming experiments as well as along altitudinal gradients. I measured how individual plants and plant communities respond to warming with and without herbivores.Results of my PhD Thesis illustrate several ways how herbivores modify the responses of plants to warming. I found that herbivores (reindeer, hare, voles, lemmings) may prevent lowland forbs from invading open tundra. Herbivores might also protect small tundra forbs from being outcompeted by taller and denser vegetation under climate warming. Thus, different herbivore pressures may lead to differing plant abundances and distribution shifts in different areas. Furthermore, my results show that high herbivore pressure can reverse the effects of long-term climate warming very rapidly, even in one year. This finding suggests that well-planned targeted reindeer grazing episodes could potentially be used as a conservation tool to keep selected tundra habitats open. Sudden cessation of grazing may initiate rapid changes in plant community, especially if it coincides with warm temperatures. Taken together, I show that herbivores counteract the effects of climate warming by slowing down or preventing vegetation changes in tundra. Therefore, it is important to consider mammalian herbivores when predicting tundra plant community responses to changing climate.
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| 5. |
- Kivinen, Sonja, et al.
(författare)
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Spatiotemporal distribution of threatened high-latitude snowbed and snow patch habitats in warming climate
- 2012
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - Bristol : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 1748-9326. ; 7:3, s. 034024-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied the interannual variation of late summer snow covered area (SCA), i.e. snowbeds and permanent snow patches, in northern Finland and analyzed the role of topographical factors and climatic conditions on the recent and future occurrence of summer snow. SCA for the years 2000, 2004, 2006 and 2009 was derived from Landsat images using a normalized difference snow index (NDSI). Late summer SCA varied notably between the years (1.5-23.0 km(2)). A major part of the late summer snow was located above 900-1000 m and on northern and eastern slopes. A generalized additive model (GAM) showed that the number of years with snow present in 1 km grid squares was strongly positively related to altitude and terrain ruggedness. Parallel examination of interannual variation of SCA and climatic conditions showed that snow cover declines were linked to relatively low snowfall-to-rainfall ratios. Annual mean air temperatures, particularly spring and early winter temperatures, showed increasing trends during the study period. Projected increases in air temperatures and rainfall suggest earlier and more efficient snow melt in the future. This may threaten the occurrence of species and communities related to snowbeds and decrease the beta-diversity of the landscape, and could also affect ecosystem services of the region.
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| 6. |
- Kumpula, Timo, et al.
(författare)
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Land use and land cover change in Arctic Russia : Ecological and social implications of industrial development
- 2011
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - Oxford : Elsevier. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 21:2, s. 550-562
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sizable areas in northwestern arctic Russia have undergone fundamental change in recent decades as the exploration of vast hydrocarbon deposits has intensified. We undertook two case studies on the influence of oil and gas activities within neighbouring federal districts in the tundra zone. Employing a strongly interdisciplinary approach, we studied the ecological, spatial and social dimensions of the visible and perceived changes in land use and land cover. Our data are derived from field sampling, remote sensing and intensive participant observation with indigenous Nenets reindeer herders and non-indigenous workers. Important trends include the rapid expansion of infrastructure, a large influx of workers who compete for freshwater fish, and extensive transformation from shrub- to grass- and sedge-dominated tundra. The latter represents an alternative ecosystem state that is likely to persist indefinitely. On terrain disturbed by off-road vehicle traffic, reindeer pastures' vegetation regenerates with fewer species among which grasses and sedges dominate, thus reducing biodiversity. To have maximum forage value such pastures must be accessible and free of trash, petro-chemicals and feral dogs. We found that a wide range of direct and indirect impacts, both ecological and social, accumulate in space and time such that the combined influence is effectively regional rather than local, depending in part on the placement of facilities. While incoming workers commonly commit poaching, they also serve as exchange partners, making barter for goods possible in remote locations. In general, the same positive and negative impacts of the presence of industry were mentioned in each study region. Even using very high-resolution remote sensing data (Quickbird-2) it is not possible to determine fully the amount of degraded territory in modern oil and gas fields. With regard to policy, both biophysical and social impacts could be substantially reduced if information flow between herders and workers were to be optimized. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 7. |
- Pajunen, A.M., et al.
(författare)
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Compositional differentiation, vegetation-environment relationships and classification of willow-characterised vegetation in the western Eurasian Arctic
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Vegetation Science. - : Wiley. - 1100-9233 .- 1654-1103. ; 21:1, s. 107-119
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Question: How does willow-characterised tundra vegetation of western Eurasia vary, and what are the main vegetation types? What are the ecological gradients and climatic regimes underlying vegetation differentiation?Location: The dataset was collected across a wide spectrum of tundra habitats at 12 sites in subarctic and arctic areas spanning from NW Fennoscandia to West Siberia.Methods: The dataset, including 758 vegetation sample plots (relevés), was analysed using a TWINSPAN classification and NMDS ordination that also included analyses of vegetation-environment correlations.Results: Based on the TWINSPAN classification, eight vegetation types characterised by willow (cover of upright willows >10%) were discerned: (1) Salix glauca-Carex aquatilis type, (2) Aulacomnium-Tomentypnum type, (3) Salix-Betula-Hylocomium type, (4) Salix lanata-Brachythecium mildeanum type, (5) Salix-Pachypleurum type, (6) S. lanata-Myosotis nemorosa type, (7) Salix-Trollius-Geranium type and (8) Salix-Comarum palustre-Filipendula ulmaria type. Willow-characterised vegetation types were compositionally differentiated from other tundra vegetation and were confined to relatively moist valley and sloping tundra sites, from mire to mineral soils. These vegetation types were encountered across a broad latitudinal zone in which July mean temperature ranged from 6 to 10°C.Conclusions: Willow-characterised tundra vegetation forms a broad category of ecologically and geographically differentiated vegetation types that are linked to dwarf shrub tundra, shrub tundra or mire. Because of complex ecological gradients underlying compositional differentiation, predicting the responses of willow-characterised tundra vegetation to a warming climate may be complicated.
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| 8. |
- Vaisanen, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Consequences of warming on tundra carbon balance determined by reindeer grazing history
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature Climate Change. - 1758-678X .- 1758-6798. ; 4:5, s. 384-388
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Arctic tundra currently stores half of the global soil carbon (C) stock(1). Climate warming in the Arctic may lead to accelerated CO2 release through enhanced decomposition and turn Arctic ecosystems from a net C sink into a net C source, if warming enhances decomposition more than plant photosynthesis(2). A large portion of the circumpolar Arctic is grazed by reindeer/caribou, and grazing causes important vegetation shifts in the long-term. Using a unique experimental set-up, where areas experiencing more than 50 years of either light (LG) or heavy (HG) grazing were warmed and/or fertilized, we show that under ambient conditions areas under LG were a 70% stronger C sink than HG areas. Although warming decreased the C sink by 38% under LG, it had no effect under HG. Grazing history will thus be an important determinant in the response of ecosystem C balance to climate warming, which at present is not taken into account in climate change models.
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| 9. |
- Väisänen, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Phenolic responses of mountain crowberry (Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum) to global climate change are compound specific and depend on grazing by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Ecology. - : Springer. - 0098-0331 .- 1573-1561. ; 39:11-12, s. 1390-1399
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mountain crowberry (Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum) is a keystone species in northern ecosystems and exerts important ecosystem-level effects through high concentrations of phenolic metabolites. It has not been investigated how crowberry phenolics will respond to global climate change. In the tundra, grazing by reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) affects vegetation and soil nutrient availability, but almost nothing is known about the interactions between grazing and global climate change on plant phenolics. We performed a factorial warming and fertilization experiment in a tundra ecosystem under light grazing and heavy grazing and analyzed individual foliar phenolics and crowberry abundance. Crowberry was more abundant under light grazing than heavy grazing. Although phenolic concentrations did not differ between grazing intensities, responses of crowberry abundance and phenolic concentrations to warming varied significantly depending on grazing intensity. Under light grazing, warming increased crowberry abundance and the concentration of stilbenes, but decreased e.g., the concentrations of flavonols, condensed tannins, and batatasin-III, resulting in no change in total phenolics. Under heavy grazing, warming did not affect crowberry abundance, and induced a weak but consistent decrease among the different phenolic compound groups, resulting in a net decrease in total phenolics. Our results show that the different phenolic compound groups may show varying or even opposing responses to warming in the tundra at different levels of grazing intensity. Even when plant phenolic concentrations do not directly respond to grazing, grazers may have a key control over plant responses to changes in the abiotic environment, reflecting multiple adaptive purposes of plant phenolics and complex interactions between the biotic and the abiotic factors.
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| 10. |
- Walker, Donald A., et al.
(författare)
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Cumulative Effects of Rapid Land-Cover and Land-Use Changes on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia
- 2011
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Ingår i: Eurasian Arctic Land Cover and Land Use in a Changing Climate. - New York : Springer Netherlands. - 9789048191178 - 9789048191185 ; , s. 207-236
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Yamal Peninsula in northwest Siberia is undergoing some of the most rapid land-cover and land-use changes in the Arctic due to a combination of gas development, reindeer herding, and climate change. Unusual geological conditions (nutrient-poor sands, massive ground ice and extensive landslides) exacerbate the impacts. These changes will likely increase markedly as transportation corridors are built to transport the gas to market. Understanding the nature, extent, causes and consequences (i.e., the cumulative effects) of the past and ongoing rapid changes on the Yamal is important for effective, long-term decision-making and planning. The cumulative effects to vegetation are the focus of this chapter because the plants are a critical component of the Yamal landscape that support the indigenous Nenets people and their reindeer and also protect the underlying ice-rich permafrost from melting. We are using a combination of ground-based studies (a transect of live locations across the Yamal), remote-sensing studies, and analyses of Nenets land-use activities to develop vegetation-change models that can be used to help anticipate future states of the tundra and how those changes might affect traditional reindeer herding practices and the thermal state of the permafrost. This chapter provides an overview of the approach, some early results, and recommendations for expanding the concept of cumulative-effects analysis to include examining the simultaneous and interactive effects of multiple drivers of change.
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