Plant succession on glacial moraines in the Arctic Brooks Range along a >125,000-year glacial chronosequence/toposequence ...

• Main Authors: Kasanke, Shawnee A., Walker, Donald A., Chapin, F. Stuart, Mann, Daniel H.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Taylor & Francis 2023
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified; Ecology; FOS Biological sciences; Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified; Plant Biology; Arctic; Brooks Range
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.22277032; https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Plant_succession_on_glacial_moraines_in_the_Arctic_Brooks_Range_along_a_125_000-year_glacial_chronosequence_toposequence/22277032

Widespread glacial retreat is now occurring in many arctic mountain ranges, yet little is known about primary succession following deglaciation in these settings. Newly created habitats could provide refugia for flora and fauna whose ranges are threatened elsewhere by rapid warming. To assess vegetation responses to glacial retreat in an arctic–alpine setting, we first describe plant community development on two recently deglaciated moraines in the Brooks Range. We then compare these recent communities with communities developed along a moraine chronosequence that spans >125,000 years and ranges in altitude between 800 and 1,700 m.a.s.l. Results show that (1) within twenty-two to thirty-six years following deglaciation, primary succession begins with the assembly of small communities of eight to thirteen vascular and nonvascular plant species; (2) species turnover is low, with many pioneer taxa, particularly lichens, persisting at the oldest sites and across all altitudes; and (3) overall, succession is ...