Data from: Divergence of Arctic shrub growth associated with sea ice decline

• Main Authors: Buchwal, Agata, Sullivan, Patrick F., Macias-Fauria, Marc, Post, Eric, Myers-Smith, Isla H., Stroeve, Julienne C., Blok, Daan, Tape, Ken D., Forbes, Bruce C., Ropars, Pascale, Lévesque, Esther, Elberling, Bo, Angers-Blondin, Sandra, Boyle, Joseph S., Boudreau, Stéphane, Boulanger-Lapointe, Noémie, Gamm, Cassandra, Hallinger, Martin, Rachlewicz, Grzegorz, Young, Amanda, Zetterberg, Pentti, Welker, Jeffrey M.
• Language: unknown
• Published: Borealis
• Subjects: Other; Arctic; Sea ice; Tundra
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/BW4SEJ

Abstract Arctic sea ice extent (SIE) is declining at an accelerating rate with a wide range of ecological consequences. However, determining sea ice effects on tundra vegetation remains a challenge. In this study, we examined the universality or lack thereof in tundra shrub growth responses to changes in SIE and summer climate across the Pan-Arctic, taking advantage of 23 tundra shrub-ring chronologies from 19 widely distributed sites (56⁰-83⁰N). Methods We acquired both published and unpublished deciduous shrub-ring chronologies that were distributed throughout the Arctic region and covered, if possible, the entire 40 year-long period of passive microwave satellite-based estimates of arctic sea ice extent (SIE) (1979-present). In order to perform a comparable study at the biome level, our synthesis focused on two shrub genera of commonly studied and widespread deciduous shrubs: Betula and Salix . Shrub-ring data were included in our analyses if the corresponding chronologies i) covered the common period (1979-2008) and ii) had an EPS (a theoretical indicator of how well the chronology represents the population mean) greater than 0.75. Our final dataset consisted of 23 chronologies (9 Betula spp. chronologies and 14 Salix spp. chronologies), 641 shrubs (306 Betula shrubs and 335 Salix shrubs), and 753 cross-sections. This dataset consists of 23 RWL files for 23 shrub ring chronologies. Each RWL file (Tucson format, unit = mm, resolution 0.001) contains raw data for all individual shrub growth series used to established each site chronology. Raw data are averaged at the plant level for the shrubs that were subjected to serial sectioning or when more than one cross-section was sampled per individual shrub. These are raw individual shrub data, not detrended or standardized. Usage notes ReadMe_v01: File description for manuscript Buchwal et al. 2020: Divergence of Arctic shrub growth associated with sea ice decline. https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/12/09/2013311117 Version_01 Date: November 22, 2020 ...