Data from: Short-term herbivory has long-term consequences in warmed and ambient high Arctic tundra ...

• Main Authors: Little, Chelsea J., Cutting, Helen B. U., Alatalo, Juha, Cooper, Elisabeth
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2018
• Subjects: Bistorta vivipara; Alopecurus magellanicus; Community structure; Salix polaris; Dryas octopetala; tundra vegetation; warming experiment; Holocene; Adventdalen; Arctic; Norway; Svalbard; Climate change; Tundra
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2m1k2; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.2m1k2

Climate change is occurring across the world, with effects varying by ecosystem and region but already occurring quickly in high-latitude and high-altitude regions. Biotic interactions are important in determining ecosystem response to such changes, but few studies have been long-term in nature, especially in the High Arctic. Mesic tundra plots on Svalbard, Norway, were subjected to grazing at two different intensities by captive Barnacle geese from 2003–2005, in a factorial design with warming by Open Top Chambers. Warming manipulations were continued through 2014, when we measured vegetation structure and composition as well as growth and reproduction of three dominant species in the mesic meadow. Significantly more dead vascular plant material was found in warmed compared to ambient plots, regardless of grazing history, but in contrast to many short-term experiments no difference in the amount of living material was found. This has strong implications for nutrient and carbon cycling and could feed back ... : Adventdalen_mesic_2014_communityData was collected at mesic meadow site in Adventdalen valley (78.19ºN, 15.93ºE) of Svalbard in July 2014. A warming treatment by Open Top Chambers (OTCs) was initiated on the site in 2003. Every year between 2003 and 2014, OTCs were placed at the site in late spring and removed each autumn. Within each block, plots were also randomly distributed between three levels of a grazing treatment by captive Barnacle Geese in 2003-2005: no grazing (UG), intermediate (low) grazing (LG), and high grazing, (HG). Grazing treatments were discontinued after 2005. Site setup and treatments are further described in Cooper et al 2004, 2006. For details of community and species-specific measurements taken in 2014, see ReadMe file. ...