| 1. |
- Vowles, Tage, et al.
(författare)
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The impact of shrub browsing by mountain hare and reindeer in subarctic Sweden
- 2016
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Ingår i: Plant Ecology and Diversity. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1755-0874 .- 1755-1668. ; 9:4, s. 421-428
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Climate warming has been causing an increase in tall shrub cover around the Arctic, however, mammalian herbivory has been shown to inhibit shrub expansion. Though the effect of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and many other mammals has been widely studied in this context, the role of the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) in subarctic Scandinavia remains unknown. Aims: To quantify browsing from mountain hare and reindeer on tall shrubs in different vegetation types and to investigate differences in shrub preference between the two. Methods: In the summers of 2013 and 2014, we counted signs of browsing by hare and reindeer on tall shrub species in 31 study plots at three alpine locations in the Scandes range, Sweden. Results: Hare browsing was significantly more frequent than that by reindeer in two (dry-mesic heath and dry meadow) out of seven vegetation types studied. Reindeer browsing was significantly higher in the low herb meadow and Långfjället shrub heath. Two shrub species, Betula nana and Salix hastata, were significantly more browsed by hare, while reindeer browsing was significantly higher on S. phylicifolia and S. lapponum. Conclusions: Our results show that mountain hares can cause extensive damage to tall shrubs in the subarctic and may have a stronger impact on shrub communities than previously recognised.
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| 2. |
- Abbott, Benjamin W., et al.
(författare)
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Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire : an expert assessment
- 2016
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing. - 1748-9326. ; 11:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets. Precise empirical or model-based assessments of the critical factors driving carbon balance are unlikely in the near future, so to address this gap, we present estimates from 98 permafrost-region experts of the response of biomass, wildfire, and hydrologic carbon flux to climate change. Results suggest that contrary to model projections, total permafrost-region biomass could decrease due to water stress and disturbance, factors that are not adequately incorporated in current models. Assessments indicate that end-of-the-century organic carbon release from Arctic rivers and collapsing coastlines could increase by 75% while carbon loss via burning could increase four-fold. Experts identified water balance, shifts in vegetation community, and permafrost degradation as the key sources of uncertainty in predicting future system response. In combination with previous findings, results suggest the permafrost region will become a carbon source to the atmosphere by 2100 regardless of warming scenario but that 65%-85% of permafrost carbon release can still be avoided if human emissions are actively reduced.
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| 3. |
- Alatalo, Juha M., et al.
(författare)
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Bryophyte cover and richness decline after 18 years of experimental warming in Alpine Sweden
- 2024
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- 1. Bryophytes in the Arctic and Alpine regions are important in terms of biodiversity, cover and biomass. However, climate change and widespread shrubification of alpine and arctic tundra is predicted to increase in the future, with potentially large impacts on bryophyte communities.2. We studies the impact of 18 years of experimental warming with open top chambers (OTCs) on bryophyte cover, richness and diversity in an alpine mesic meadow and a heath plant community in Northern Sweden. In addition we investigated the relationship between deciduous shrubs and bryophytes.3. Cover and richness of bryophytes both declined due to long-term warming, while diversity did not show any significant responses. After 18 years, bryophyte cover had decreased by 71% and 26 in the heath and meadow, while richness declined by 39% and 26%, respectively.4. Synthesis. Decline in total bryophyte cover in both communities in response to long-term warming was driven by a general decline in many species, with only two individual species showing significant declines. Although most of the species included in the individual analyses did not show any detectable changes, the cumulative change in all species was significant. In addition, species loss was slower than the general decline in bryophyte abundance. As hypothesized, we found significant negative relationship between deciduous shrub cover and bryophyte cover, but not bryophyte richness, in both plant communities. This is likely due to a more delayed decline in species richness compared to abundance, similar to what was observed in response to long-term warming.
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| 4. |
- Alatalo, J. M., et al.
(författare)
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Bryophyte cover and richness decline after 18 years of experimental warming in alpine Sweden
- 2020
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Ingår i: Aob Plants. - Oxford : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2041-2851. ; 12:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change is expected to affect alpine and Arctic tundra communities. Most previous long-term studies have focused on impacts on vascular plants, this study examined impacts of long-term warming on bryophyte communities. Experimental warming with open-top chambers (OTCs) was applied for 18 years to a mesic meadow and a dry heath alpine plant community. Species abundance was measured in 1995, 1999, 2001 and 2013. Species composition changed significantly from original communities in the heath, but remained similar in mesic meadow. Experimental warming increased beta diversity in the heath. Bryophyte cover and species richness both declined with long-term warming, while Simpson diversity showed no significant responses. Over the 18-year period, bryophyte cover in warmed plots decreased from 43 % to 11 % in heath and from 68 % to 35 % in meadow (75 % and 48 % decline, respectively, in original cover), while richness declined by 39 % and 26 %, respectively. Importantly, the decline in cover and richness first emerged after 7 years. Warming caused significant increase in litter in both plant communities. Deciduous shrub and litter cover had negative impact on bryophyte cover. We show that bryophyte species do not respond similarly to climate change. Total bryophyte cover declined in both heath and mesic meadow under experimental long-term warming (by 1.5-3 degrees C), driven by general declines in many species. Principal response curve, cover and richness results suggested that bryophytes in alpine heath are more susceptible to warming than in meadow, supporting the suggestion that bryophytes may be less resistant in drier environments than in wetter habitats. Species loss was slower than the decline in bryophyte abundance, and diversity remained similar in both communities. Increased deciduous shrub and litter cover led to decline in bryophyte cover. The non-linear response to warming over time underlines the importance of long-term experiments and monitoring.
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| 5. |
- Alatalo, J. M., et al.
(författare)
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Changes in plant composition and diversity in an alpine heath and meadow after 18 years of experimental warming
- 2022
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Ingår i: Alpine Botany. - Basel : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1664-2201 .- 1664-221X. ; 132, s. 181-193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Global warming is expected to have large impacts on high alpine and Arctic ecosystems in the future. Here we report effects of 18 years of experimental warming on two contrasting high alpine plant communities in subarctic Sweden. Using open-top chambers, we analysed effects of long-term passive experimental warming on a heath and a meadow. We determined the impact on species composition, species diversity (at the level of rare, common and dominant species), and phylogenetic and functional diversity. Long-term warming drove differentiation in species composition in both communities; warmed plots, but not control plots, had distinctly different species composition in 2013 compared with 1995. Beta diversity increased in the meadow, while it decreased in the heath. Long-term warming had significant negative effects on the three orders of phylogenetic Hill diversity in the meadow. There was a similar tendency in the heath, but only phylogenetic diversity of dominant species was significantly affected. Long-term warming caused reductions in forbs in the heath, while evergreen shrubs increased. In the meadow, deciduous and evergreen shrubs showed increased abundance from 2001 to 2013 in warmed plots. Responses in species and phylogenetic diversity to experimental warming varied over both time (medium (7 years) vs long-term (18 years)) and space (between two neighbouring plant communities). The meadow community was more negatively affected in terms of species and phylogenetic diversity than the heath community. A potential driver for the changes in the meadow may be decreased soil moisture caused by long-term warming.
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| 6. |
- Alatalo, Juha M., et al.
(författare)
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Climate change and climatic events: community-, functional- and species-level responses of bryophytes and lichens to constant, stepwise, and pulse experimental warming in an alpine tundra
- 2014
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Ingår i: Alpine Botany. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1664-2201 .- 1664-221X. ; 124:2, s. 81-91
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We experimentally imposed three different kinds of warming scenarios over 3 years on an alpine meadow community to identify the differential effects of climate warming and extreme climatic events on the abundance and biomass of bryophytes and lichens. Treatments consisted of (a) a constant level of warming with open top chambers (an average temperature increase of 1.87 A degrees C), (b) a yearly stepwise increase of warming (average temperature increases of 1.0; 1.87 and 3.54 A degrees C, consecutively), and (c) a pulse warming, i.e., a single first year pulse event of warming (average temperature increase of 3.54 A degrees C only during the first year). To our knowledge, this is the first climate change study that attempts to distinguish between the effects of constant, stepwise and pulse warming on bryophyte and lichen communities. We hypothesised that pulse warming would have a significant short-term effect compared to the other warming treatments, and that stepwise warming would have a significant mid-term effect compared to the other warming treatments. Acrocarpous bryophytes as a group increased in abundance and biomass to the short-term effect of pulse warming. We found no significant effects of mid-term (third-year) stepwise warming. However, one pleurocarpous bryophyte species, Tomentypnum nitens, generally increased in abundance during the warm year 1997 but decreased in control plots and in response to the stepwise warming treatment. Three years of experimental warming (all treatments as a group) did have a significant impact at the community level, yet changes in abundance did not translate into significant changes in the dominance hierarchies at the functional level (for acrocarpous bryophytes, pleurocarpous bryophytes, Sphagnum or lichens), or in significant changes in other bryophyte or lichen species. The results suggest that bryophytes and lichens, both at the functional group and species level, to a large extent are resistant to the different climate change warming simulations that were applied.
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| 7. |
- Alatalo, Juha M., et al.
(författare)
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Dominance hierarchies, diversity and species richness of vascular plants in an alpine meadow: Contrasting short and medium termresponses to simulated global change
- 2014
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Ingår i: PeerJ. - : PeerJ Inc.. - 2167-8359. ; 2014:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied the impact of simulated global change on a high alpine meadow plant community. Specifically, we examined whether short-term (5 years) responses are good predictors for medium-term (7 years) changes in the system by applying a factorial warming and nutrient manipulation to 20 plots in Latnjajaure, subarctic Sweden. Seven years of experimental warming and nutrient enhancement caused dramatic shifts in dominance hierarchies in response to the nutrient and the combined warming and nutrient enhancement treatments. Dominance hierarchies in the meadow moved from a community being dominated by cushion plants, deciduous, and evergreen shrubs to a community being dominated by grasses, sedges, and forbs. Short-termresponses were shown to be inconsistent in their ability to predict medium-term responses for most functional groups, however, grasses showed a consistent and very substantial increase in response to nutrient addition over the seven years. The non-linear responses over time point out the importance of longer-term studies with repeated measurements to be able to better predict future changes. Forecasted changes to temperature and nutrient availability have implications for trophic interactions, and may ultimately influence the access to and palatability of the forage for grazers. Depending on what anthropogenic change will be most pronounced in the future (increase in nutrient deposits, warming, or a combination of them both), different shifts in community dominance hierarchies may occur. Generally, this study supports the productivity-diversity relationship found across arctic habitats, with community diversity peaking in mid-productivity systems and degrading as nutrient availability increases further. This is likely due the increasing competition in plant-plant interactions and the shifting dominance structure with grasses taking over the experimental plots, suggesting that global change could have high costs to biodiversity in the Arctic. © 2014 Alatalo et al.
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| 8. |
- Alatalo, J. M., et al.
(författare)
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Effects of ambient climate and three warming treatments on fruit production in an alpine, subarctic meadow community
- 2021
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Ingår i: American Journal of Botany. - Oxford : Wiley. - 0002-9122 .- 1537-2197. ; 108:3, s. 411-422
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Premise Climate change is having major impacts on alpine and arctic regions, and inter-annual variations in temperature are likely to increase. How increased climate variability will impact plant reproduction is unclear. Methods In a 4-year study on fruit production by an alpine plant community in northern Sweden, we applied three warming regimes: (1) a static level of warming with open-top chambers (OTC), (2) press warming, a yearly stepwise increase in warming, and (3) pulse warming, a single-year pulse event of higher warming. We analyzed the relationship between fruit production and monthly temperatures during the budding period, fruiting period, and whole fruit production period and the effect of winter and summer precipitation on fruit production. Results Year and treatment had a significant effect on total fruit production by evergreen shrubs, Cassiope tetragona, and Dryas octopetala, with large variations between treatments and years. Year, but not treatment, had a significant effect on deciduous shrubs and graminoids, both of which increased fruit production over the 4 years, while forbs were negatively affected by the press warming, but not by year. Fruit production was influenced by ambient temperature during the previous-year budding period, current-year fruiting period, and whole fruit production period. Minimum and average temperatures were more important than maximum temperature. In general, fruit production was negatively correlated with increased precipitation. Conclusions These results indicate that predicted increased climate variability and increased precipitation due to climate change may affect plant reproductive output and long-term community dynamics in alpine meadow communities.
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| 9. |
- Alatalo, J. M., et al.
(författare)
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Impact of ambient temperature, precipitation and seven years of experimental warming and nutrient addition on fruit production in an alpine heath and meadow community
- 2022
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - Amsterdam : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 836
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alpine and polar regions are predicted to be among the most vulnerable to changes in temperature, precipitation, and nutrient availability. We carried out a seven-year factorial experiment with warming and nutrient addition in two alpine vegetation communities. We analyzed the relationship between fruit production and monthly mean, maximum, and min temperatures during the fall of the pre-fruiting year, the fruiting summer, and the whole fruit production period, and measured the effects of precipitation and growing and thawing degree days (GDD & TDD) on fruit production. Nutrient addition (heath: 27.88 +/- 3.19 fold change at the end of the experiment; meadow: 18.02 +/- 4.07) and combined nutrient addition and warming (heath: 20.63 +/- 29.34 fold change at the end of the experiment; meadow: 18.21 +/- 16.28) increased total fruit production and fruit production of graminoids. Fruit production of evergreen and deciduous shrubs fluctuated among the treatments and years in both the heath and meadow. Pre-maximum temperatures had a negative effect on fruit production in both communities, while current year maximum temperatures had a positive impact on fruit production in the meadow. Pre-minimum, pre-mean, current mean, total minimum, and total mean temperatures were all positively correlated with fruit production in the meadow. The current year and total precipitation had a negative effect on the fruit production of deciduous shrubs in the heath. GDD had a positive effect on fruit production in both communities, while TDD only impacted fruit production in the meadow. Increased nutrient availability increased fruit production over time in the high alpine plant communities, while experimental warming had either no effect or a negative effect. Deciduous shrubs were the most sensitive to climate parameters in both communities, and the meadow was more sensitive than the heath. The difference in importance of TDD for fruit production may be due to differences in snow cover in the two communities.
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| 10. |
- Alatalo, J. M., et al.
(författare)
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Impacts of different climate change regimes and extreme climatic events on an alpine meadow community
- 2016
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate variability is expected to increase in future but there exist very few experimental studies that apply different warming regimes on plant communities over several years. We studied an alpine meadow community under three warming regimes over three years. Treatments consisted of (a) a constant level of warming with open-top chambers (ca. 1.9 degrees C above ambient), (b) yearly stepwise increases in warming (increases of ca. 1.0, 1.9 and 3.5 degrees C), and (c) pulse warming, a single first-year pulse event of warming (increase of ca. 3.5 degrees C). Pulse warming and stepwise warming was hypothesised to cause distinct first-year and third-year effects, respectively. We found support for both hypotheses; however, the responses varied among measurement levels (whole community, canopy, bottom layer, and plant functional groups), treatments, and time. Our study revealed complex responses of the alpine plant community to the different experimentally imposed climate warming regimes. Plant cover, height and biomass frequently responded distinctly to the constant level of warming, the stepwise increase in warming and the extreme pulse-warming event. Notably, we found that stepwise warming had an accumulating effect on biomass, the responses to the different warming regimes varied among functional groups, and the short-term perturbations had negative effect on species richness and diversity
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