Responses of Cassiope tetragona, a high Arctic evergreen dwarf shrub, to variations in growing season temperature and growing season length at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island ...

• Main Author: Johnstone, Jill F.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2009
• Subjects: Alexandra Fiord; Arctic; Cassiope tetragona; Ellesmere Island
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0099012; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0099012

The short-term responses of Cassiope tetragona, a high arctic evergreen shrub, to variations in growing season climate were examined using experimental manipulations of temperature and growing season length at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island. Surface temperatures in the field were increased an average of 1-2 °C in two communities using open-top greenhouses. Growing season length was altered in a snowbed community by using manual snow manipulations to change the date of snowmelt. Growth and reproductive responses of Cassiope tetragona to these manipulations were observed over two field seasons following treatment establishment. Natural variations in vegetative and reproductive characteristics of Cassiope tetragona were also monitored in unmanipulated communities selected to represent a range of environmental conditions at the study site. Retrospective analysis of past Cassiope growth and reproduction was used to provide a record of variations in productivity spanning 25-35 years which could be related to ...