Contrasting growth response of evergreen and deciduous arctic‐alpine shrub species to climate variability
Abstract Broad‐scale changes in arctic‐alpine vegetation and their global effects have long been recognized and labeled one of the clearest examples of the terrestrial impacts of climate change. Arctic‐alpine dwarf shrubs are a key factor in those processes, responding to accelerated warming in comp...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:29d05a243233415d9962a3b0d1976b85 2023-05-15T14:50:04+02:00 Contrasting growth response of evergreen and deciduous arctic‐alpine shrub species to climate variability Svenja Dobbert Roland Pape Jörg Löffler 2021-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3688 https://doaj.org/article/29d05a243233415d9962a3b0d1976b85 EN eng Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3688 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.3688 https://doaj.org/article/29d05a243233415d9962a3b0d1976b85 Ecosphere, Vol 12, Iss 8, Pp n/a-n/a (2021) arctic‐alpine greening and browning Betula nana climate–growth relations dendrometer Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum growth physiology Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3688 2022-12-31T10:16:26Z Abstract Broad‐scale changes in arctic‐alpine vegetation and their global effects have long been recognized and labeled one of the clearest examples of the terrestrial impacts of climate change. Arctic‐alpine dwarf shrubs are a key factor in those processes, responding to accelerated warming in complex and still poorly understood ways. Here, we look closely into such responses of deciduous and evergreen species, and for the first time, we make use of high‐precision dendrometers to monitor the radial growth of dwarf shrubs at unprecedented temporal resolution, bridging the gap between classical dendroecology and the underlying growth physiology of a species. Using statistical methods on a five‐year dataset, including a relative importance analysis based on partial least squares regression, linear mixed modeling, and correlation analysis, we identified distinct growth mechanisms for both evergreen (Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum) and deciduous (Betula nana) species. We found those mechanisms in accordance with the species respective physiological requirements and the exclusive micro‐environmental conditions, suggesting high phenotypical plasticity in both focal species. Additionally, growth in both species was negatively affected by unusually warm conditions during summer and both responded to low winter temperatures with radial stem shrinking, which we interpreted as an active mechanism of frost protection related to changes in water availability. However, our analysis revealed contrasting and inter‐annually nuanced response patterns. While B. nana benefited from winter warming and a prolonged growing season, E. hermaphroditum showed high negative sensitivity to spring cold spells after an earlier growth start, relying on additional photosynthetic opportunities during snow‐free winter periods. Thus, we conclude that climate–growth responses of dwarf shrubs in arctic‐alpine environments are highly seasonal and heterogenic, and that deciduous species are overall likely to show a positive growth response to ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Betula nana Climate change Empetrum nigrum Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Browning ENVELOPE(164.050,164.050,-74.617,-74.617) Ecosphere 12 8 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
arctic‐alpine greening and browning Betula nana climate–growth relations dendrometer Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum growth physiology Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
arctic‐alpine greening and browning Betula nana climate–growth relations dendrometer Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum growth physiology Ecology QH540-549.5 Svenja Dobbert Roland Pape Jörg Löffler Contrasting growth response of evergreen and deciduous arctic‐alpine shrub species to climate variability |
topic_facet |
arctic‐alpine greening and browning Betula nana climate–growth relations dendrometer Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum growth physiology Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Abstract Broad‐scale changes in arctic‐alpine vegetation and their global effects have long been recognized and labeled one of the clearest examples of the terrestrial impacts of climate change. Arctic‐alpine dwarf shrubs are a key factor in those processes, responding to accelerated warming in complex and still poorly understood ways. Here, we look closely into such responses of deciduous and evergreen species, and for the first time, we make use of high‐precision dendrometers to monitor the radial growth of dwarf shrubs at unprecedented temporal resolution, bridging the gap between classical dendroecology and the underlying growth physiology of a species. Using statistical methods on a five‐year dataset, including a relative importance analysis based on partial least squares regression, linear mixed modeling, and correlation analysis, we identified distinct growth mechanisms for both evergreen (Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum) and deciduous (Betula nana) species. We found those mechanisms in accordance with the species respective physiological requirements and the exclusive micro‐environmental conditions, suggesting high phenotypical plasticity in both focal species. Additionally, growth in both species was negatively affected by unusually warm conditions during summer and both responded to low winter temperatures with radial stem shrinking, which we interpreted as an active mechanism of frost protection related to changes in water availability. However, our analysis revealed contrasting and inter‐annually nuanced response patterns. While B. nana benefited from winter warming and a prolonged growing season, E. hermaphroditum showed high negative sensitivity to spring cold spells after an earlier growth start, relying on additional photosynthetic opportunities during snow‐free winter periods. Thus, we conclude that climate–growth responses of dwarf shrubs in arctic‐alpine environments are highly seasonal and heterogenic, and that deciduous species are overall likely to show a positive growth response to ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Svenja Dobbert Roland Pape Jörg Löffler |
author_facet |
Svenja Dobbert Roland Pape Jörg Löffler |
author_sort |
Svenja Dobbert |
title |
Contrasting growth response of evergreen and deciduous arctic‐alpine shrub species to climate variability |
title_short |
Contrasting growth response of evergreen and deciduous arctic‐alpine shrub species to climate variability |
title_full |
Contrasting growth response of evergreen and deciduous arctic‐alpine shrub species to climate variability |
title_fullStr |
Contrasting growth response of evergreen and deciduous arctic‐alpine shrub species to climate variability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Contrasting growth response of evergreen and deciduous arctic‐alpine shrub species to climate variability |
title_sort |
contrasting growth response of evergreen and deciduous arctic‐alpine shrub species to climate variability |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3688 https://doaj.org/article/29d05a243233415d9962a3b0d1976b85 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(164.050,164.050,-74.617,-74.617) |
geographic |
Arctic Browning |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Browning |
genre |
Arctic Betula nana Climate change Empetrum nigrum |
genre_facet |
Arctic Betula nana Climate change Empetrum nigrum |
op_source |
Ecosphere, Vol 12, Iss 8, Pp n/a-n/a (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3688 https://doaj.org/toc/2150-8925 2150-8925 doi:10.1002/ecs2.3688 https://doaj.org/article/29d05a243233415d9962a3b0d1976b85 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3688 |
container_title |
Ecosphere |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
8 |
_version_ |
1766321151053660160 |