Shrub canopies influence soil temperatures but not nutrient dynamics: An experimental test of tundra snow–shrub interactions
Abstract Shrubs are the largest plant life form in tundra ecosystems; therefore, any changes in the abundance of shrubs will feedback to influence biodiversity, ecosystem function, and climate. The snow–shrub hypothesis asserts that shrub canopies trap snow and insulate soils in winter, increasing t...
Published in: | Ecology and Evolution |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2013
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.710 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fece3.710 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.710 |
id |
crwiley:10.1002/ece3.710 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.1002/ece3.710 2024-06-23T07:57:16+00:00 Shrub canopies influence soil temperatures but not nutrient dynamics: An experimental test of tundra snow–shrub interactions Myers‐Smith, Isla H. Hik, David S. 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.710 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fece3.710 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.710 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Ecology and Evolution volume 3, issue 11, page 3683-3700 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 journal-article 2013 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.710 2024-06-13T04:25:18Z Abstract Shrubs are the largest plant life form in tundra ecosystems; therefore, any changes in the abundance of shrubs will feedback to influence biodiversity, ecosystem function, and climate. The snow–shrub hypothesis asserts that shrub canopies trap snow and insulate soils in winter, increasing the rates of nutrient cycling to create a positive feedback to shrub expansion. However, previous work has not been able to separate the abiotic from the biotic influences of shrub canopies. We conducted a 3‐year factorial experiment to determine the influences of canopies on soil temperatures and nutrient cycling parameters by removing ~0.5 m high willow ( Salix spp.) and birch ( Betula glandulosa ) shrubs, creating artificial shrub canopies and comparing these manipulations to nearby open tundra and shrub patches. Soil temperatures were 4–5°C warmer in January, and 2°C cooler in July under shrub cover. Natural shrub plots had 14–33 cm more snow in January than adjacent open tundra plots. Snow cover and soil temperatures were similar in the manipulated plots when compared with the respective unmanipulated treatments, indicating that shrub canopy cover was a dominant factor influencing the soil thermal regime. Conversely, we found no strong evidence of increased soil decomposition, CO 2 fluxes, or nitrate or ammonia adsorbtion under artificial shrub canopy treatments when compared with unmanipulated open tundra. Our results suggest that the abiotic influences of shrub canopy cover alone on nutrient dynamics are weaker than previously asserted. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra Wiley Online Library Ecology and Evolution 3 11 3683 3700 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Shrubs are the largest plant life form in tundra ecosystems; therefore, any changes in the abundance of shrubs will feedback to influence biodiversity, ecosystem function, and climate. The snow–shrub hypothesis asserts that shrub canopies trap snow and insulate soils in winter, increasing the rates of nutrient cycling to create a positive feedback to shrub expansion. However, previous work has not been able to separate the abiotic from the biotic influences of shrub canopies. We conducted a 3‐year factorial experiment to determine the influences of canopies on soil temperatures and nutrient cycling parameters by removing ~0.5 m high willow ( Salix spp.) and birch ( Betula glandulosa ) shrubs, creating artificial shrub canopies and comparing these manipulations to nearby open tundra and shrub patches. Soil temperatures were 4–5°C warmer in January, and 2°C cooler in July under shrub cover. Natural shrub plots had 14–33 cm more snow in January than adjacent open tundra plots. Snow cover and soil temperatures were similar in the manipulated plots when compared with the respective unmanipulated treatments, indicating that shrub canopy cover was a dominant factor influencing the soil thermal regime. Conversely, we found no strong evidence of increased soil decomposition, CO 2 fluxes, or nitrate or ammonia adsorbtion under artificial shrub canopy treatments when compared with unmanipulated open tundra. Our results suggest that the abiotic influences of shrub canopy cover alone on nutrient dynamics are weaker than previously asserted. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Myers‐Smith, Isla H. Hik, David S. |
spellingShingle |
Myers‐Smith, Isla H. Hik, David S. Shrub canopies influence soil temperatures but not nutrient dynamics: An experimental test of tundra snow–shrub interactions |
author_facet |
Myers‐Smith, Isla H. Hik, David S. |
author_sort |
Myers‐Smith, Isla H. |
title |
Shrub canopies influence soil temperatures but not nutrient dynamics: An experimental test of tundra snow–shrub interactions |
title_short |
Shrub canopies influence soil temperatures but not nutrient dynamics: An experimental test of tundra snow–shrub interactions |
title_full |
Shrub canopies influence soil temperatures but not nutrient dynamics: An experimental test of tundra snow–shrub interactions |
title_fullStr |
Shrub canopies influence soil temperatures but not nutrient dynamics: An experimental test of tundra snow–shrub interactions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Shrub canopies influence soil temperatures but not nutrient dynamics: An experimental test of tundra snow–shrub interactions |
title_sort |
shrub canopies influence soil temperatures but not nutrient dynamics: an experimental test of tundra snow–shrub interactions |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.710 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fece3.710 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.710 |
genre |
Tundra |
genre_facet |
Tundra |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution volume 3, issue 11, page 3683-3700 ISSN 2045-7758 2045-7758 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.710 |
container_title |
Ecology and Evolution |
container_volume |
3 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
3683 |
op_container_end_page |
3700 |
_version_ |
1802650824367669248 |