Reindeer grazing controls willows but has only minor effects on plant communities in Fennoscandian oroarctic mires
Shrubification of arctic tundra is a well-recognized phenomenon, and it can be particularly rapid in moist habitats. Reindeer grazing can inhibit shrubification, but grazing impacts on mire vegetation have been overlooked. We studied grazing effects on plant communities and Salix lapponum in oroarct...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8c039423bf5141948af75bbfafe97fc1 2023-05-15T14:14:31+02:00 Reindeer grazing controls willows but has only minor effects on plant communities in Fennoscandian oroarctic mires Tiina H. M. Kolari Timo Kumpula Mariana Verdonen Bruce C. Forbes Teemu Tahvanainen 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2019.1679940 https://doaj.org/article/8c039423bf5141948af75bbfafe97fc1 EN eng Taylor & Francis Group http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2019.1679940 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2019.1679940 https://doaj.org/article/8c039423bf5141948af75bbfafe97fc1 Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 51, Iss 1, Pp 506-520 (2019) herbivory ndvi plant communities salix shrubification Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2019.1679940 2022-12-31T08:27:13Z Shrubification of arctic tundra is a well-recognized phenomenon, and it can be particularly rapid in moist habitats. Reindeer grazing can inhibit shrubification, but grazing impacts on mire vegetation have been overlooked. We studied grazing effects on plant communities and Salix lapponum in oroarctic mires at the border of Finland and Norway. We compared plant community structure and S. lapponum abundance and traits between (1) grazed fens (Finland); (2) experimental exclosures (Finland), where reindeer have been kept out for 13 years; and (3) nongrazed fens (Norway). Grazing effect on shrubification was assessed using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and leaf area index (LAI). We did not find a uniform direction of vegetation change connected to the exclosure treatment, and grazing treatments were overlapping in multivariate ordination. Neither NDVI nor LAI indicated clear differences. Instead, significant results were revealed in total abundance of species groups and in S. lapponum traits. The cover of bryophytes was significantly lower under free grazing. Reindeer grazing reduced the abundance, height, and flowering and increased leaf N concentration of S. lapponum. We conclude that reindeer grazing controls willows and affects total abundance of important species groups, and plant community structure is resistant to grazing effects in oroarctic mires. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Arctic Fennoscandian Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Norway Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 51 1 506 520 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
herbivory ndvi plant communities salix shrubification Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
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herbivory ndvi plant communities salix shrubification Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 Tiina H. M. Kolari Timo Kumpula Mariana Verdonen Bruce C. Forbes Teemu Tahvanainen Reindeer grazing controls willows but has only minor effects on plant communities in Fennoscandian oroarctic mires |
topic_facet |
herbivory ndvi plant communities salix shrubification Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Shrubification of arctic tundra is a well-recognized phenomenon, and it can be particularly rapid in moist habitats. Reindeer grazing can inhibit shrubification, but grazing impacts on mire vegetation have been overlooked. We studied grazing effects on plant communities and Salix lapponum in oroarctic mires at the border of Finland and Norway. We compared plant community structure and S. lapponum abundance and traits between (1) grazed fens (Finland); (2) experimental exclosures (Finland), where reindeer have been kept out for 13 years; and (3) nongrazed fens (Norway). Grazing effect on shrubification was assessed using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and leaf area index (LAI). We did not find a uniform direction of vegetation change connected to the exclosure treatment, and grazing treatments were overlapping in multivariate ordination. Neither NDVI nor LAI indicated clear differences. Instead, significant results were revealed in total abundance of species groups and in S. lapponum traits. The cover of bryophytes was significantly lower under free grazing. Reindeer grazing reduced the abundance, height, and flowering and increased leaf N concentration of S. lapponum. We conclude that reindeer grazing controls willows and affects total abundance of important species groups, and plant community structure is resistant to grazing effects in oroarctic mires. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tiina H. M. Kolari Timo Kumpula Mariana Verdonen Bruce C. Forbes Teemu Tahvanainen |
author_facet |
Tiina H. M. Kolari Timo Kumpula Mariana Verdonen Bruce C. Forbes Teemu Tahvanainen |
author_sort |
Tiina H. M. Kolari |
title |
Reindeer grazing controls willows but has only minor effects on plant communities in Fennoscandian oroarctic mires |
title_short |
Reindeer grazing controls willows but has only minor effects on plant communities in Fennoscandian oroarctic mires |
title_full |
Reindeer grazing controls willows but has only minor effects on plant communities in Fennoscandian oroarctic mires |
title_fullStr |
Reindeer grazing controls willows but has only minor effects on plant communities in Fennoscandian oroarctic mires |
title_full_unstemmed |
Reindeer grazing controls willows but has only minor effects on plant communities in Fennoscandian oroarctic mires |
title_sort |
reindeer grazing controls willows but has only minor effects on plant communities in fennoscandian oroarctic mires |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2019.1679940 https://doaj.org/article/8c039423bf5141948af75bbfafe97fc1 |
geographic |
Arctic Norway |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Norway |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Arctic Fennoscandian Tundra |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Arctic Fennoscandian Tundra |
op_source |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 51, Iss 1, Pp 506-520 (2019) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2019.1679940 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2019.1679940 https://doaj.org/article/8c039423bf5141948af75bbfafe97fc1 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2019.1679940 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
51 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
506 |
op_container_end_page |
520 |
_version_ |
1766286939494809600 |