The bioclimatic extent and pattern of the cold edge of the boreal forest: the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone
Current configurations of forest structure at the cold edge of the boreal may help understand the future of ecosystem functioning in high northern latitudes. The circumpolar biome boundary at the boreal (taiga) forest and tundra interface is an ecological transition zone (taiga-tundra ecotone; TTE)...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:39339802006e49318c540926a70951ae 2023-09-05T13:19:57+02:00 The bioclimatic extent and pattern of the cold edge of the boreal forest: the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone Paul M Montesano Christopher S R Neigh Matthew Macander Min Feng Praveen Noojipady 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abb2c7 https://doaj.org/article/39339802006e49318c540926a70951ae EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abb2c7 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/abb2c7 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/39339802006e49318c540926a70951ae Environmental Research Letters, Vol 15, Iss 10, p 105019 (2020) ecotone boreal forest taiga tundra structure Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abb2c7 2023-08-13T00:37:16Z Current configurations of forest structure at the cold edge of the boreal may help understand the future of ecosystem functioning in high northern latitudes. The circumpolar biome boundary at the boreal (taiga) forest and tundra interface is an ecological transition zone (taiga-tundra ecotone; TTE) experiencing changes that affect its forest structure. We accounted for the TTE’s horizontal forest structure with an estimate of its extent and pattern as represented by tree canopy cover (TCC). We quantified TCC patterns with an algorithm that describes its spatial gradient, and summarized landscape patterns of structure to represent heterogeneity, capturing abrupt, diffuse, and uniform forest at mesoscales. We used these landscape patterns to constrain the spatial extent of sparse and open canopy forest, and non-forest (forest-adjacent) edge that defines the TTE extent. The resulting map of the TTE extent is based on forest structure spatial patterns resolved at 30 m, highlights structural variability across landscapes, and helps distinguish tundra from boreal domains. We classified 14 594 landscapes as those associated with the TTE within a circumpolar bioclimatic envelope (11.575 million km ^2 ), where 44.83% of the area of these landscapes were forest and non-forest edge, yet 36.43% contributed to the TTE extent. We report the overall extent of the TTE (3.032 million km ^2 ) across North America and Greenland (53%), and Eurasia (47%), where 0.697 million km ^2 is non-forest edge, 0.549 million km ^2 is sparse forest, and 1.787 million km ^2 is open canopy forest. Diffuse forest landscapes dominate the TTE (79%), and abrupt landscapes (∼19%) indicate portions of the TTE where sparse forest and non-forest edge are the prevailing structural patterns. This account of the TTE quantifies the area of the cold edge of the boreal forest where previous global estimates show high discrepancies, and can help target monitoring and prediction of circumpolar dynamics. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland taiga Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Environmental Research Letters 15 10 105019 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
ecotone boreal forest taiga tundra structure Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
ecotone boreal forest taiga tundra structure Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Paul M Montesano Christopher S R Neigh Matthew Macander Min Feng Praveen Noojipady The bioclimatic extent and pattern of the cold edge of the boreal forest: the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone |
topic_facet |
ecotone boreal forest taiga tundra structure Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
Current configurations of forest structure at the cold edge of the boreal may help understand the future of ecosystem functioning in high northern latitudes. The circumpolar biome boundary at the boreal (taiga) forest and tundra interface is an ecological transition zone (taiga-tundra ecotone; TTE) experiencing changes that affect its forest structure. We accounted for the TTE’s horizontal forest structure with an estimate of its extent and pattern as represented by tree canopy cover (TCC). We quantified TCC patterns with an algorithm that describes its spatial gradient, and summarized landscape patterns of structure to represent heterogeneity, capturing abrupt, diffuse, and uniform forest at mesoscales. We used these landscape patterns to constrain the spatial extent of sparse and open canopy forest, and non-forest (forest-adjacent) edge that defines the TTE extent. The resulting map of the TTE extent is based on forest structure spatial patterns resolved at 30 m, highlights structural variability across landscapes, and helps distinguish tundra from boreal domains. We classified 14 594 landscapes as those associated with the TTE within a circumpolar bioclimatic envelope (11.575 million km ^2 ), where 44.83% of the area of these landscapes were forest and non-forest edge, yet 36.43% contributed to the TTE extent. We report the overall extent of the TTE (3.032 million km ^2 ) across North America and Greenland (53%), and Eurasia (47%), where 0.697 million km ^2 is non-forest edge, 0.549 million km ^2 is sparse forest, and 1.787 million km ^2 is open canopy forest. Diffuse forest landscapes dominate the TTE (79%), and abrupt landscapes (∼19%) indicate portions of the TTE where sparse forest and non-forest edge are the prevailing structural patterns. This account of the TTE quantifies the area of the cold edge of the boreal forest where previous global estimates show high discrepancies, and can help target monitoring and prediction of circumpolar dynamics. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Paul M Montesano Christopher S R Neigh Matthew Macander Min Feng Praveen Noojipady |
author_facet |
Paul M Montesano Christopher S R Neigh Matthew Macander Min Feng Praveen Noojipady |
author_sort |
Paul M Montesano |
title |
The bioclimatic extent and pattern of the cold edge of the boreal forest: the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone |
title_short |
The bioclimatic extent and pattern of the cold edge of the boreal forest: the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone |
title_full |
The bioclimatic extent and pattern of the cold edge of the boreal forest: the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone |
title_fullStr |
The bioclimatic extent and pattern of the cold edge of the boreal forest: the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone |
title_full_unstemmed |
The bioclimatic extent and pattern of the cold edge of the boreal forest: the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone |
title_sort |
bioclimatic extent and pattern of the cold edge of the boreal forest: the circumpolar taiga-tundra ecotone |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abb2c7 https://doaj.org/article/39339802006e49318c540926a70951ae |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland taiga Tundra |
genre_facet |
Greenland taiga Tundra |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 15, Iss 10, p 105019 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abb2c7 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/abb2c7 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/39339802006e49318c540926a70951ae |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abb2c7 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
105019 |
_version_ |
1776200717768327168 |