Warming‐induced upward migration of the alpine treeline in the Changbai Mountains, northeast China
Abstract Treeline responses to environmental changes describe an important phenomenon in global change research. Often conflicting results and generally too short observations are, however, still challenging our understanding of climate‐induced treeline dynamics. Here, we use a state‐of‐the‐art dend...
Published in: | Global Change Biology |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2017
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13963 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fgcb.13963 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.13963 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gcb.13963 |
id |
crwiley:10.1111/gcb.13963 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.1111/gcb.13963 2024-06-23T07:57:18+00:00 Warming‐induced upward migration of the alpine treeline in the Changbai Mountains, northeast China Du, Haibo Liu, Jie Li, Mai‐He Büntgen, Ulf Yang, Yue Wang, Lei Wu, Zhengfang He, Hong S. National Natural Science Foundation of China China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13963 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fgcb.13963 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.13963 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gcb.13963 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Global Change Biology volume 24, issue 3, page 1256-1266 ISSN 1354-1013 1365-2486 journal-article 2017 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13963 2024-06-13T04:21:58Z Abstract Treeline responses to environmental changes describe an important phenomenon in global change research. Often conflicting results and generally too short observations are, however, still challenging our understanding of climate‐induced treeline dynamics. Here, we use a state‐of‐the‐art dendroecological approach to reconstruct long‐term changes in the position of the alpine treeline in relation to air temperature at two sides in the Changbai Mountains in northeast China. Over the past 160 years, the treeline increased by around 80 m, a process that can be divided into three phases of different rates and drives. The first phase was mainly influenced by vegetation recovery after an eruption of the Tianchi volcano in 1702. The slowly upward shift in the second phase was consistent with the slowly increasing temperature. The last phase coincided with rapid warming since 1985, and shows with 33 m per 1°C, the most intense upward shift. The spatial distribution and age structure of trees beyond the current treeline confirm the latest, warming‐induced upward shift. Our results suggest that the alpine treeline will continue to rise, and that the alpine tundra may disappear if temperatures will increase further. This study not only enhances mechanistic understanding of long‐term treeline dynamics, but also highlights the effects of rising temperatures on high‐elevation vegetation dynamics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra Wiley Online Library Global Change Biology 24 3 1256 1266 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Treeline responses to environmental changes describe an important phenomenon in global change research. Often conflicting results and generally too short observations are, however, still challenging our understanding of climate‐induced treeline dynamics. Here, we use a state‐of‐the‐art dendroecological approach to reconstruct long‐term changes in the position of the alpine treeline in relation to air temperature at two sides in the Changbai Mountains in northeast China. Over the past 160 years, the treeline increased by around 80 m, a process that can be divided into three phases of different rates and drives. The first phase was mainly influenced by vegetation recovery after an eruption of the Tianchi volcano in 1702. The slowly upward shift in the second phase was consistent with the slowly increasing temperature. The last phase coincided with rapid warming since 1985, and shows with 33 m per 1°C, the most intense upward shift. The spatial distribution and age structure of trees beyond the current treeline confirm the latest, warming‐induced upward shift. Our results suggest that the alpine treeline will continue to rise, and that the alpine tundra may disappear if temperatures will increase further. This study not only enhances mechanistic understanding of long‐term treeline dynamics, but also highlights the effects of rising temperatures on high‐elevation vegetation dynamics. |
author2 |
National Natural Science Foundation of China China Postdoctoral Science Foundation |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Du, Haibo Liu, Jie Li, Mai‐He Büntgen, Ulf Yang, Yue Wang, Lei Wu, Zhengfang He, Hong S. |
spellingShingle |
Du, Haibo Liu, Jie Li, Mai‐He Büntgen, Ulf Yang, Yue Wang, Lei Wu, Zhengfang He, Hong S. Warming‐induced upward migration of the alpine treeline in the Changbai Mountains, northeast China |
author_facet |
Du, Haibo Liu, Jie Li, Mai‐He Büntgen, Ulf Yang, Yue Wang, Lei Wu, Zhengfang He, Hong S. |
author_sort |
Du, Haibo |
title |
Warming‐induced upward migration of the alpine treeline in the Changbai Mountains, northeast China |
title_short |
Warming‐induced upward migration of the alpine treeline in the Changbai Mountains, northeast China |
title_full |
Warming‐induced upward migration of the alpine treeline in the Changbai Mountains, northeast China |
title_fullStr |
Warming‐induced upward migration of the alpine treeline in the Changbai Mountains, northeast China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Warming‐induced upward migration of the alpine treeline in the Changbai Mountains, northeast China |
title_sort |
warming‐induced upward migration of the alpine treeline in the changbai mountains, northeast china |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13963 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fgcb.13963 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/gcb.13963 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/gcb.13963 |
genre |
Tundra |
genre_facet |
Tundra |
op_source |
Global Change Biology volume 24, issue 3, page 1256-1266 ISSN 1354-1013 1365-2486 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13963 |
container_title |
Global Change Biology |
container_volume |
24 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1256 |
op_container_end_page |
1266 |
_version_ |
1802650870844751872 |