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- Barrio, Isabel C., et al.
(author)
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Publisher Correction to : Background invertebrate herbivory on dwarf birch (Betula glandulosa-nana complex) increases with temperature and precipitation across the tundra biome (vol 40, pg 2265, 2017)
- 2018
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In: Polar Biology. - : Springer. - 0722-4060 .- 1432-2056. ; 41:8, s. 1653-1654
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The above mentioned article was originally scheduled for publication in the special issue on Ecology of Tundra Arthropods with guest editors Toke T. Hoye . Lauren E. Culler. Erroneously, the article was published in Polar Biology, Volume 40, Issue 11, November, 2017. The publisher sincerely apologizes to the guest editors and the authors for the inconvenience caused.
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- Blume-Werry, Gesche, 1985-, et al.
(author)
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Invasive earthworms unlock arctic plant nitrogen limitation
- 2020
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 11:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Arctic plant growth is predominantly nitrogen (N) limited. This limitation is generally attributed to slow soil microbial processes due to low temperatures. Here, we show that arctic plant-soil N cycling is also substantially constrained by the lack of larger detritivores (earthworms) able to mineralize and physically translocate litter and soil organic matter. These new functions provided by earthworms increased shrub and grass N concentration in our common garden experiment. Earthworm activity also increased either the height or number of floral shoots, while enhancing fine root production and vegetation greenness in heath and meadow communities to a level that exceeded the inherent differences between these two common arctic plant communities. Moreover, these worming effects on plant N and greening exceeded reported effects of warming, herbivory and nutrient addition, suggesting that human spreading of earthworms may lead to substantial changes in the structure and function of arctic ecosystems. Arctic plant growth is predominantly nitrogen limited, where the slow nitrogen turnover in the soil is commonly attributed to the cold arctic climate. Here the authors show that the arctic plant-soil nitrogen cycling is also constrained by the lack of larger detritivores like earthworms.
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4. |
- Prager, C. M., et al.
(author)
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Climate and multiple dimensions of plant diversity regulate ecosystem carbon exchange along an elevational gradient
- 2021
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In: Ecosphere. - : Wiley. - 2150-8925. ; 12:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The impacts of warming on communities and ecosystems are predicted to be significant in mountain ecosystems because physiological processes, including rates of carbon (C) cycling, are often more temperature-sensitive in colder environments. Plant biodiversity can also influence C exchange, yet few studies integrate how biotic and abiotic factors may directly or interactively impact ecosystem C flux. Here, we examine the link between simultaneous changes in multiple dimensions of plant diversity and peak growing season ecosystem C uptake across a climatic gradient in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA. We found that taxonomic diversity (species richness), functional diversity (functional evenness), and phylogenetic diversity (mean pairwise distance) were significantly and positively related to peak growing season ecosystem C uptake (i.e., net ecosystem exchange) when considered independently. However, when abiotic and biotic factors were integrated in a structural equation model, only plant phylogenetic diversity was significantly related to C uptake. In addition, we found that actual evapotranspiration (AET-a measure that integrates precipitation and temperature) affected ecosystem C exchange indirectly via its impact on the three dimensions of plant diversity that we examined. These findings highlight complex relationships among key measures of biodiversity and ecosystem C uptake in a rapidly warming ecosystem, and the possible mechanisms that underlie relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. They also point to the need for integrating multiple dimensions of biodiversity into studies of community and ecosystem ecology.
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6. |
- Scharn, Ruud, et al.
(author)
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Limited decadal growth of mountain birch saplings has minor impact on surrounding tundra vegetation
- 2022
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In: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 12:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Temperatures over the Arctic region are increasing at three times the rate of the global average. Consequently, Arctic vegetation is changing and trees are encroaching into the tundra. In this study, we examine the establishment and growth of mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. tortuosa), which forms the treeline in subarctic Europe, and its impact on community composition across the treeline ecotone nearby Abisko, Sweden. Birch advancement along elevational gradients was studied by comparing data collected in 2016 with data collected 10 and 15years previously. Species identity, cover, and phylogenetic relatedness were used to assess the impact of birch encroachment on community composition. Our results show that birch occurrence above the treeline did not affect plant community composition, probably owing to the observed lack of significant growth due to herbivore browsing, nitrogen limitation, or a reduction in snow cover. Independent of birch performance, the tundra community structure shifted toward a novel community dissimilar from the forest plant community found below the treeline. Taken together, our findings are explained by species-specific responses to climate change, rather than by a linear forest advance. Future treeline advancements are likely more restricted than previously expected
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8. |
- Sundqvist, Maja, 1980, et al.
(author)
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Responses of tundra plant community carbon flux to experimental warming, dominant species removal and elevation
- 2020
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In: Functional Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0269-8463 .- 1365-2435. ; 34:7, s. 1497-1506
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Rising temperatures can influence ecosystem processes both directly and indirectly, through effects on plant species and communities. An improved understanding of direct versus indirect effects of warming on ecosystem processes is needed for robust predictions of the impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics. To explore potential direct and indirect effects of warming on C dynamics in arctic tundra heath, we established a warming (open top chambers) and dominant plant species (Empetrum hermaphroditum Hagerup) removal experiment at a high and low elevation site. We measured the individual and interactive effects of warming, dominant species removal and elevation on plant species cover, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), leaf area index (LAI), temperature, soil moisture and instantaneous net ecosystem CO2 exchange. We hypothesized that ecosystems would be stronger CO2 sinks at the low elevation site, and that warming and species removal would weaken the CO2 sink because warming should increase ecosystem respiration (ER) and species removal should reduce gross primary productivity (GPP). Furthermore, we hypothesized that warming and species removal would have the greatest impact on processes at the high elevation where site temperature should be most limiting and dominant species may buffer the overall community to environmental stress more compared to the low elevation site where plants are more likely to compete with the dominant species. The instantaneous CO2 flux, which reflected a weak CO2 sink, was similar at both elevations. Neither experimental warming nor dominant species removal significantly changed GPP or instantaneous net ecosystem CO2 exchange even though species removal significantly reduced ER, NDVI and LAI. Our results show that even the loss of dominant plant species may not result in significant landscape-scale responses of net ecosystem CO2 exchange to warming. They also show that NDVI and LAI may be limited in their ability to predict changes in GPP in these tundra heaths systems. Our study highlights the need for more detailed vegetation analyses and ground-truthed measurements in order to accurately predict direct and indirect impacts of climatic change on ecosystem C dynamics. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
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