Individualistic Growth Response of Tundra Plant Species to Environmental Manipulations in the Field
In undisturbed arctic tussock and wet meadow tundras we increased air temperature with a plastic greenhouse, increased nutrient availability by NPK fertilization, and decreased light intensity with shade cloth to determine the factors limiting growth of tundra plants. After 2 yr of these manipulatio...
Published in: | Ecology |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1940405 http://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1940405 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1940405 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2307/1940405 |
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crwiley:10.2307/1940405 2024-09-09T19:27:22+00:00 Individualistic Growth Response of Tundra Plant Species to Environmental Manipulations in the Field Chapin, F. Stuart Shaver, Gaius R. 1985 http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1940405 http://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1940405 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1940405 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2307/1940405 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Ecology volume 66, issue 2, page 564-576 ISSN 0012-9658 1939-9170 journal-article 1985 crwiley https://doi.org/10.2307/1940405 2024-08-06T04:12:53Z In undisturbed arctic tussock and wet meadow tundras we increased air temperature with a plastic greenhouse, increased nutrient availability by NPK fertilization, and decreased light intensity with shade cloth to determine the factors limiting growth of tundra plants. After 2 yr of these manipulations we measured growth of each major vascular species and one moss species. Each species showed a different pattern of growth response to alteration of light, air temperature, and nutrient regimes, indicating that no single factor limits growth of all species in these communities. Growth of canopy species (Betula nana, Ledum palustre, Carex bigelowii, and Eriophorum vaginatum) was reduced by experimental shading more than was growth of understory species (e.g., Vaccinium vitisidaea and Rubus chamaemorus). Species typical of nutrient—rich sites (Betula nana, Rubus chamaemorus, and Polygonum bistorta) generally responded more to nutrient addition than did species typical of nutrient—poor sites (e.g., Empetrum nigrum), although there were species characteristic of fertile sites (Salix pulchra) and infertile sites (Ledum palustre) which did not show this pattern of nutrient response. Species that grow in warm hollows between tussocks showed less growth in response to increased air temperature than did canopy species. We suggest that lack of a single common factor limiting growth of all species in tussock and wet meadow tundras implies that (1) each species is individualistically distributed, as described by the continuum model of community organization, (2) as a result of competition and/or distinct evolutionary histories, the growth of each species is limited by a different combination of environmental factors, and (3) production by individual species varies greatly from year to year, but production by the whole vegetation is more stable, because years that are favorable for growth of some species cause a compensatory decrease in growth of other species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Betula nana Carex bigelowii Empetrum nigrum Eriophorum Rubus chamaemorus Tundra Wiley Online Library Arctic Ecology 66 2 564 576 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
In undisturbed arctic tussock and wet meadow tundras we increased air temperature with a plastic greenhouse, increased nutrient availability by NPK fertilization, and decreased light intensity with shade cloth to determine the factors limiting growth of tundra plants. After 2 yr of these manipulations we measured growth of each major vascular species and one moss species. Each species showed a different pattern of growth response to alteration of light, air temperature, and nutrient regimes, indicating that no single factor limits growth of all species in these communities. Growth of canopy species (Betula nana, Ledum palustre, Carex bigelowii, and Eriophorum vaginatum) was reduced by experimental shading more than was growth of understory species (e.g., Vaccinium vitisidaea and Rubus chamaemorus). Species typical of nutrient—rich sites (Betula nana, Rubus chamaemorus, and Polygonum bistorta) generally responded more to nutrient addition than did species typical of nutrient—poor sites (e.g., Empetrum nigrum), although there were species characteristic of fertile sites (Salix pulchra) and infertile sites (Ledum palustre) which did not show this pattern of nutrient response. Species that grow in warm hollows between tussocks showed less growth in response to increased air temperature than did canopy species. We suggest that lack of a single common factor limiting growth of all species in tussock and wet meadow tundras implies that (1) each species is individualistically distributed, as described by the continuum model of community organization, (2) as a result of competition and/or distinct evolutionary histories, the growth of each species is limited by a different combination of environmental factors, and (3) production by individual species varies greatly from year to year, but production by the whole vegetation is more stable, because years that are favorable for growth of some species cause a compensatory decrease in growth of other species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Chapin, F. Stuart Shaver, Gaius R. |
spellingShingle |
Chapin, F. Stuart Shaver, Gaius R. Individualistic Growth Response of Tundra Plant Species to Environmental Manipulations in the Field |
author_facet |
Chapin, F. Stuart Shaver, Gaius R. |
author_sort |
Chapin, F. Stuart |
title |
Individualistic Growth Response of Tundra Plant Species to Environmental Manipulations in the Field |
title_short |
Individualistic Growth Response of Tundra Plant Species to Environmental Manipulations in the Field |
title_full |
Individualistic Growth Response of Tundra Plant Species to Environmental Manipulations in the Field |
title_fullStr |
Individualistic Growth Response of Tundra Plant Species to Environmental Manipulations in the Field |
title_full_unstemmed |
Individualistic Growth Response of Tundra Plant Species to Environmental Manipulations in the Field |
title_sort |
individualistic growth response of tundra plant species to environmental manipulations in the field |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
1985 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1940405 http://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1940405 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2307%2F1940405 https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2307/1940405 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Betula nana Carex bigelowii Empetrum nigrum Eriophorum Rubus chamaemorus Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Betula nana Carex bigelowii Empetrum nigrum Eriophorum Rubus chamaemorus Tundra |
op_source |
Ecology volume 66, issue 2, page 564-576 ISSN 0012-9658 1939-9170 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2307/1940405 |
container_title |
Ecology |
container_volume |
66 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
564 |
op_container_end_page |
576 |
_version_ |
1809896807583449088 |