Warming and neighbor removal affect white spruce seedling growth differently above and below treeline
Abstract Climate change is expected to be pronounced towards higher latitudes and altitudes. Warming triggers treeline and vegetation shifts, which may aggravate interspecific competition and affect biodiversity. This research tested the effects of a warming climate, habitat type, and neighboring pl...
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ftbiomed:oai:biomedcentral.com:s40064-015-0833-x 2023-05-15T18:28:14+02:00 Warming and neighbor removal affect white spruce seedling growth differently above and below treeline Okano, Kyoko Bret-Harte, M 2015-02-13 http://www.springerplus.com/content/4/1/79 en eng BioMed Central Ltd. http://www.springerplus.com/content/4/1/79 Copyright 2015 Okano and Bret-Harte; licensee Springer. Picea glauca Boreal forest Climate change Competition Subarctic Alaska Research 2015 ftbiomed 2015-03-01T00:53:02Z Abstract Climate change is expected to be pronounced towards higher latitudes and altitudes. Warming triggers treeline and vegetation shifts, which may aggravate interspecific competition and affect biodiversity. This research tested the effects of a warming climate, habitat type, and neighboring plant competition on the establishment and growth of white spruce ( Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) seedlings in a subarctic mountain region. P. glauca seedlings were planted in June 2010 under 4 different treatments (high/control temperatures, with/without competition) in 3 habitats (alpine ridge above treeline/tundra near treeline /forest below treeline habitats). After two growing seasons in 2011, growth, photosynthesis and foliar C and N data were obtained from a total of 156, one-and-a-half year old seedlings that had survived. Elevated temperatures increased growth and photosynthetic rates above and near treeline, but decreased them below treeline. Competition was increased by elevated temperatures in all habitat types. Our results suggest that increasing temperatures will have positive effects on the growth of P. glauca seedlings at the locations where P. glauca is expected to expand its habitat, but increasing temperatures may have negative effects on seedlings growing in mature forests. Due to interspecific competition, possibly belowground competition, the upslope expansion of treelines may not be as fast in the future as it was the last fifty years. Other/Unknown Material Subarctic Tundra Alaska BioMed Central |
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BioMed Central |
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ftbiomed |
language |
English |
topic |
Picea glauca Boreal forest Climate change Competition Subarctic Alaska |
spellingShingle |
Picea glauca Boreal forest Climate change Competition Subarctic Alaska Okano, Kyoko Bret-Harte, M Warming and neighbor removal affect white spruce seedling growth differently above and below treeline |
topic_facet |
Picea glauca Boreal forest Climate change Competition Subarctic Alaska |
description |
Abstract Climate change is expected to be pronounced towards higher latitudes and altitudes. Warming triggers treeline and vegetation shifts, which may aggravate interspecific competition and affect biodiversity. This research tested the effects of a warming climate, habitat type, and neighboring plant competition on the establishment and growth of white spruce ( Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) seedlings in a subarctic mountain region. P. glauca seedlings were planted in June 2010 under 4 different treatments (high/control temperatures, with/without competition) in 3 habitats (alpine ridge above treeline/tundra near treeline /forest below treeline habitats). After two growing seasons in 2011, growth, photosynthesis and foliar C and N data were obtained from a total of 156, one-and-a-half year old seedlings that had survived. Elevated temperatures increased growth and photosynthetic rates above and near treeline, but decreased them below treeline. Competition was increased by elevated temperatures in all habitat types. Our results suggest that increasing temperatures will have positive effects on the growth of P. glauca seedlings at the locations where P. glauca is expected to expand its habitat, but increasing temperatures may have negative effects on seedlings growing in mature forests. Due to interspecific competition, possibly belowground competition, the upslope expansion of treelines may not be as fast in the future as it was the last fifty years. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Okano, Kyoko Bret-Harte, M |
author_facet |
Okano, Kyoko Bret-Harte, M |
author_sort |
Okano, Kyoko |
title |
Warming and neighbor removal affect white spruce seedling growth differently above and below treeline |
title_short |
Warming and neighbor removal affect white spruce seedling growth differently above and below treeline |
title_full |
Warming and neighbor removal affect white spruce seedling growth differently above and below treeline |
title_fullStr |
Warming and neighbor removal affect white spruce seedling growth differently above and below treeline |
title_full_unstemmed |
Warming and neighbor removal affect white spruce seedling growth differently above and below treeline |
title_sort |
warming and neighbor removal affect white spruce seedling growth differently above and below treeline |
publisher |
BioMed Central Ltd. |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://www.springerplus.com/content/4/1/79 |
genre |
Subarctic Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Subarctic Tundra Alaska |
op_relation |
http://www.springerplus.com/content/4/1/79 |
op_rights |
Copyright 2015 Okano and Bret-Harte; licensee Springer. |
_version_ |
1766210618844512256 |