Spatial and temporal dynamics of growth of woody plant species (birch and willows) on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland
Abstract Background The forelands of retreating glaciers are invaluable natural laboratories in which to explore the processes of primary succession. Numerous studies have been conducted on foreland chronosequences to identify temporal and spatial trends of the successional communities. This study f...
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2021
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9 http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9.pdf http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9/fulltext.html |
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crspringernat:10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9 2023-05-15T16:21:45+02:00 Spatial and temporal dynamics of growth of woody plant species (birch and willows) on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland Synan, Haley E. Melfi, Mikael A. Tanner, Lawrence H. 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9 http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9.pdf http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9/fulltext.html en eng Springer Science and Business Media LLC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY Ecological Processes volume 10, issue 1 ISSN 2192-1709 Ecological Modelling Ecology journal-article 2021 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9 2022-01-04T10:49:55Z Abstract Background The forelands of retreating glaciers are invaluable natural laboratories in which to explore the processes of primary succession. Numerous studies have been conducted on foreland chronosequences to identify temporal and spatial trends of the successional communities. This study focused on the spatio-temporal distribution of three woody plant species on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland where historical observations provide precise age control of the moraines. To evaluate colonization and successional trends, we examined which species increase in abundance with time and tested the role of proximity to a seed source in colonization. Additionally, we quantified the rate at which biomass carbon is added to the landscape. Results The density of stems of Betula pubescens increases with moraine age across the foreland chronosequence while the density of stems of both Salix lanata and Salix phylicifolia decreases. We found low statistical significance to the relationship between the density of B. pubescens and distance from a forested ridge nor did we find a relationship between the lengths of the stems and the moraine ages. Woody biomass increased fastest during early successional stages and reached a maximum of 28.5 g C m − 2 on the oldest moraine. Conclusions Early colonization of moraines was controlled by environmental filters which favored both Salix species. Colonization by B. pubescens followed as environmental factors, e.g., favorable soil properties, improved. We found no conclusive evidence that proximity to a potential source of B. pubescens propagules was a significant factor in controlling colonization. The assumption that the abundance of individuals increased with time through later successional stages proved valid for B. pubescens , but not for either species of Salix . These findings are consistent with the classical spatial successional model of community homogenization. Thus, general successional processes at the landscape scale control the temporal dynamics of individual species. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Iceland Salix lanata Springer Nature (via Crossref) Ecological Processes 10 1 |
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Springer Nature (via Crossref) |
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English |
topic |
Ecological Modelling Ecology |
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Ecological Modelling Ecology Synan, Haley E. Melfi, Mikael A. Tanner, Lawrence H. Spatial and temporal dynamics of growth of woody plant species (birch and willows) on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland |
topic_facet |
Ecological Modelling Ecology |
description |
Abstract Background The forelands of retreating glaciers are invaluable natural laboratories in which to explore the processes of primary succession. Numerous studies have been conducted on foreland chronosequences to identify temporal and spatial trends of the successional communities. This study focused on the spatio-temporal distribution of three woody plant species on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland where historical observations provide precise age control of the moraines. To evaluate colonization and successional trends, we examined which species increase in abundance with time and tested the role of proximity to a seed source in colonization. Additionally, we quantified the rate at which biomass carbon is added to the landscape. Results The density of stems of Betula pubescens increases with moraine age across the foreland chronosequence while the density of stems of both Salix lanata and Salix phylicifolia decreases. We found low statistical significance to the relationship between the density of B. pubescens and distance from a forested ridge nor did we find a relationship between the lengths of the stems and the moraine ages. Woody biomass increased fastest during early successional stages and reached a maximum of 28.5 g C m − 2 on the oldest moraine. Conclusions Early colonization of moraines was controlled by environmental filters which favored both Salix species. Colonization by B. pubescens followed as environmental factors, e.g., favorable soil properties, improved. We found no conclusive evidence that proximity to a potential source of B. pubescens propagules was a significant factor in controlling colonization. The assumption that the abundance of individuals increased with time through later successional stages proved valid for B. pubescens , but not for either species of Salix . These findings are consistent with the classical spatial successional model of community homogenization. Thus, general successional processes at the landscape scale control the temporal dynamics of individual species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Synan, Haley E. Melfi, Mikael A. Tanner, Lawrence H. |
author_facet |
Synan, Haley E. Melfi, Mikael A. Tanner, Lawrence H. |
author_sort |
Synan, Haley E. |
title |
Spatial and temporal dynamics of growth of woody plant species (birch and willows) on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland |
title_short |
Spatial and temporal dynamics of growth of woody plant species (birch and willows) on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland |
title_full |
Spatial and temporal dynamics of growth of woody plant species (birch and willows) on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland |
title_fullStr |
Spatial and temporal dynamics of growth of woody plant species (birch and willows) on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial and temporal dynamics of growth of woody plant species (birch and willows) on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland |
title_sort |
spatial and temporal dynamics of growth of woody plant species (birch and willows) on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern iceland |
publisher |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9 http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9.pdf http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9/fulltext.html |
genre |
glacier Iceland Salix lanata |
genre_facet |
glacier Iceland Salix lanata |
op_source |
Ecological Processes volume 10, issue 1 ISSN 2192-1709 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-021-00282-9 |
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Ecological Processes |
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10 |
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1766009731474784256 |