Insects of the Forest-Tundra Ecotone (ForTunE) ...

• Main Author: Nyman, Tommi
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research 2023
• Subjects: Cecidomyiidae; parasitoid; Salix; plant-herbivore-parasitoid networks; Norway; Chalcidoidea; Ichneumonoidea; Egle; Arctic; herbivore; pollinators; Northern Norway; Subarctic; Tundra
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.15468/z24cmy; https://www.gbif.org/dataset/83bf1012-38d7-4260-8d3a-866516c65c82

The forest–tundra ecotone, which spans the whole northern Hemisphere, is the zone where closed forests gradually give way to open arctic or alpine tundra. In northern Norway, the forest–tundra ecotone is formed by three main vegetation types: (1) subarctic forests, where the canopy layer is formed almost exclusively by mountain birch; (2) a transitional zone of tall-shrub tundra dominated by diverse willow species in various combinations; and (3) arctic and alpine tundra, with low vegetation consisting of dwarf shrubs, herbs, grasses, mosses, and lichens. During the coming decades, the distributions of the different habitat types within the forest–tundra ecotone will change dramatically as a result of the warming climate. Especially open tundra habitats will shrink from their current extent due to shrub expansion. This may lead to significant losses of vertebrate and invertebrate species in open tundra habitats, but also of species living within other components of the forest–tundra ecotone. Predicting the ...