Data from: Can novel pest outbreaks drive ecosystem transitions in northern-boreal birch forest? ...

• Main Authors: Vindstad, Ole Petter Laksforsmo, Jepsen, Jane Uhd, Ek, Malin, Pepi, Adam, Ims, Rolf Anker
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2019
• Subjects: positive feedback; Betula pubescens var. pumila; Betula pubescens; Epirrita autumnata; critical threshold; forest regeneration; Norway; Vindstad; Fennoscandia
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1nm650h; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.1nm650h

1. The boreal biome exhibits distinct alternative ecosystem states with high and low levels of tree-cover. Insect outbreaks facilitated by climate warming could potentially drive transitions from high to low tree-cover states. We investigated whether two key premises for such outbreak-induced transitions – critical thresholds (tipping points) and positive feedbacks that could maintain alternative states – are present in the northern-boreal mountain birch forest of Fennoscandia. Here, climate warming has promoted range expansions of defoliating geometrid moths, resulting in novel, severe multispecies outbreaks, most recently during 2002-2010. 2. We conducted regional-scale field surveys of forest damage and recovery in 280 mountain birch stands in a northeast Norway immediately after the outbreak (2010) and six years later (2016). Satellite-derived time series of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) provided an index of stand defoliation during the outbreak period. 3. The proportion of dead stems ... : forest_data_2010_pubData on mountain birch forest damage and recovery in August 2010.forest_data_2016_pubData on mountain birch forest damage and recovery in August 2016.Rscript_all_analyzes_pubR script to reproduce all analyzes and plots reported in Vindstad et al. "Can novel pest outbreaks drive ecosystem transitions in northern-boreal birch forest?"README. Explanation of variablesExplanation of the variables found in the datafiles forest_data_2010_pub.txt and forest_data_2016_pub.txtdefolitation_data_pubData on yearly percentage fall in NDVI for sampling transects for 2001-2010defoliation_data_pub.txt ...