Resource availability drives plant–plant interactions of conifer seedlings across elevations under warming in Alaska
Abstract Future warming may alter plant stress at high‐elevation treelines and forests, thereby changing plant–plant interactions. The relative importance of competition and facilitation may depend on the degree of resource or physical stress. According to the stress gradient hypothesis (SGH), physi...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1afc46749b41489d90dbf9139a0588e3 2023-05-15T18:39:59+02:00 Resource availability drives plant–plant interactions of conifer seedlings across elevations under warming in Alaska Kyoko Okano M. Syndonia Bret‐Harte Christa P. H. Mulder Glenn P. Juday 2021-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3508 https://doaj.org/article/1afc46749b41489d90dbf9139a0588e3 EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3508 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.3508 https://doaj.org/article/1afc46749b41489d90dbf9139a0588e3 Ecosphere, Vol 12, Iss 5, Pp n/a-n/a (2021) alpine treeline boreal forests climate change interior Alaska plant–plant interaction seedlings Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3508 2022-12-31T06:36:41Z Abstract Future warming may alter plant stress at high‐elevation treelines and forests, thereby changing plant–plant interactions. The relative importance of competition and facilitation may depend on the degree of resource or physical stress. According to the stress gradient hypothesis (SGH), physical stress on trees is more important at cold high elevations where facilitation predominates, and less important at low elevations where competition is the main interaction. Our goals were to investigate whether plant–plant interactions along elevational gradients corresponded to those predicted by the SGH, and to assess the effects of increasing temperatures on the growth of conifer seedlings in tundra–forest ecosystems in interior Alaska, USA. We established sites along two elevational gradients: one in tundra (four sites, 550–1170 m) and one in forest (three sites, 210–760 m). A field warming and neighbor removal experiment was conducted using transplanted seedlings of white spruce (Picea glauca). After three growing seasons, regardless of elevation, spruce seedling biomass was approximately 20% lower in seedlings with neighbor plants compared to those without neighbors. Therefore, there was no evidence for greater facilitation at high elevations across either tundra or forest elevational gradient. Seedlings in forest sites increased their shoot‐to‐root ratios and relative growth rates in height, suggesting competition for light, but this was not seen for seedlings growing in tundra sites. When warmed by greenhouses, seedling growth was stimulated in forests, especially at high elevations. In contrast, at tundra sites, warmed seedlings grew less than controls and the seedlings at high elevations showed water stress. Our results suggest that the resource stresses of low light and water availability are more important drivers of plant–plant interactions than the physical stress imposed by low temperature, possibly due to warming in the past 50 yr in this region. Further warming may increase growth of seedlings in ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra Alaska Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Ecosphere 12 5 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
alpine treeline boreal forests climate change interior Alaska plant–plant interaction seedlings Ecology QH540-549.5 |
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alpine treeline boreal forests climate change interior Alaska plant–plant interaction seedlings Ecology QH540-549.5 Kyoko Okano M. Syndonia Bret‐Harte Christa P. H. Mulder Glenn P. Juday Resource availability drives plant–plant interactions of conifer seedlings across elevations under warming in Alaska |
topic_facet |
alpine treeline boreal forests climate change interior Alaska plant–plant interaction seedlings Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Future warming may alter plant stress at high‐elevation treelines and forests, thereby changing plant–plant interactions. The relative importance of competition and facilitation may depend on the degree of resource or physical stress. According to the stress gradient hypothesis (SGH), physical stress on trees is more important at cold high elevations where facilitation predominates, and less important at low elevations where competition is the main interaction. Our goals were to investigate whether plant–plant interactions along elevational gradients corresponded to those predicted by the SGH, and to assess the effects of increasing temperatures on the growth of conifer seedlings in tundra–forest ecosystems in interior Alaska, USA. We established sites along two elevational gradients: one in tundra (four sites, 550–1170 m) and one in forest (three sites, 210–760 m). A field warming and neighbor removal experiment was conducted using transplanted seedlings of white spruce (Picea glauca). After three growing seasons, regardless of elevation, spruce seedling biomass was approximately 20% lower in seedlings with neighbor plants compared to those without neighbors. Therefore, there was no evidence for greater facilitation at high elevations across either tundra or forest elevational gradient. Seedlings in forest sites increased their shoot‐to‐root ratios and relative growth rates in height, suggesting competition for light, but this was not seen for seedlings growing in tundra sites. When warmed by greenhouses, seedling growth was stimulated in forests, especially at high elevations. In contrast, at tundra sites, warmed seedlings grew less than controls and the seedlings at high elevations showed water stress. Our results suggest that the resource stresses of low light and water availability are more important drivers of plant–plant interactions than the physical stress imposed by low temperature, possibly due to warming in the past 50 yr in this region. Further warming may increase growth of seedlings in ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kyoko Okano M. Syndonia Bret‐Harte Christa P. H. Mulder Glenn P. Juday |
author_facet |
Kyoko Okano M. Syndonia Bret‐Harte Christa P. H. Mulder Glenn P. Juday |
author_sort |
Kyoko Okano |
title |
Resource availability drives plant–plant interactions of conifer seedlings across elevations under warming in Alaska |
title_short |
Resource availability drives plant–plant interactions of conifer seedlings across elevations under warming in Alaska |
title_full |
Resource availability drives plant–plant interactions of conifer seedlings across elevations under warming in Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Resource availability drives plant–plant interactions of conifer seedlings across elevations under warming in Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Resource availability drives plant–plant interactions of conifer seedlings across elevations under warming in Alaska |
title_sort |
resource availability drives plant–plant interactions of conifer seedlings across elevations under warming in alaska |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3508 https://doaj.org/article/1afc46749b41489d90dbf9139a0588e3 |
genre |
Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Tundra Alaska |
op_source |
Ecosphere, Vol 12, Iss 5, Pp n/a-n/a (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3508 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.3508 https://doaj.org/article/1afc46749b41489d90dbf9139a0588e3 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3508 |
container_title |
Ecosphere |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
5 |
_version_ |
1766229064584003584 |