Shrub growth and expansion in the Arctic tundra: an assessment of controlling factors using an evidence-based approach
Woody shrubs have increased in biomass and expanded into new areas throughout the Pan-Arctic tundra biome in recent decades, which has been linked to a biome-wide observed increase in productivity. Experimental, observational, and socio-ecological research suggests that air temperature—and to a less...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:aaaa8b2bbc6745d89200551afd5595ba 2023-09-05T13:16:18+02:00 Shrub growth and expansion in the Arctic tundra: an assessment of controlling factors using an evidence-based approach Andrew C Martin Elizabeth S Jeffers Gillian Petrokofsky Isla Myers-Smith Marc Macias-Fauria 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7989 https://doaj.org/article/aaaa8b2bbc6745d89200551afd5595ba EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7989 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aa7989 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/aaaa8b2bbc6745d89200551afd5595ba Environmental Research Letters, Vol 12, Iss 8, p 085007 (2017) arctic shrub systematic approach shrub growth shrub expansion global change Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2017 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7989 2023-08-13T00:37:34Z Woody shrubs have increased in biomass and expanded into new areas throughout the Pan-Arctic tundra biome in recent decades, which has been linked to a biome-wide observed increase in productivity. Experimental, observational, and socio-ecological research suggests that air temperature—and to a lesser degree precipitation—trends have been the predominant drivers of this change. However, a progressive decoupling of these drivers from Arctic vegetation productivity has been reported, and since 2010, vegetation productivity has also been declining. We created a protocol to (a) identify the suite of controls that may be operating on shrub growth and expansion, and (b) characterise the evidence base for controls on Arctic shrub growth and expansion. We found evidence for a suite of 23 proximal controls that operate directly on shrub growth and expansion; the evidence base focused predominantly on just four controls (air temperature, soil moisture, herbivory, and snow dynamics). 65% of evidence was generated in the warmest tundra climes, while 24% was from only one of 28 floristic sectors. Temporal limitations beyond 10 years existed for most controls, while the use of space-for-time approaches was high, with 14% of the evidence derived via experimental approaches. The findings suggest the current evidence base is not sufficiently robust or comprehensive at present to answer key questions of Pan-Arctic shrub change. We suggest future directions that could strengthen the evidence, and lead to an understanding of the key mechanisms driving changes in Arctic shrub environments. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Environmental Research Letters 12 8 085007 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
arctic shrub systematic approach shrub growth shrub expansion global change Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
arctic shrub systematic approach shrub growth shrub expansion global change Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Andrew C Martin Elizabeth S Jeffers Gillian Petrokofsky Isla Myers-Smith Marc Macias-Fauria Shrub growth and expansion in the Arctic tundra: an assessment of controlling factors using an evidence-based approach |
topic_facet |
arctic shrub systematic approach shrub growth shrub expansion global change Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
Woody shrubs have increased in biomass and expanded into new areas throughout the Pan-Arctic tundra biome in recent decades, which has been linked to a biome-wide observed increase in productivity. Experimental, observational, and socio-ecological research suggests that air temperature—and to a lesser degree precipitation—trends have been the predominant drivers of this change. However, a progressive decoupling of these drivers from Arctic vegetation productivity has been reported, and since 2010, vegetation productivity has also been declining. We created a protocol to (a) identify the suite of controls that may be operating on shrub growth and expansion, and (b) characterise the evidence base for controls on Arctic shrub growth and expansion. We found evidence for a suite of 23 proximal controls that operate directly on shrub growth and expansion; the evidence base focused predominantly on just four controls (air temperature, soil moisture, herbivory, and snow dynamics). 65% of evidence was generated in the warmest tundra climes, while 24% was from only one of 28 floristic sectors. Temporal limitations beyond 10 years existed for most controls, while the use of space-for-time approaches was high, with 14% of the evidence derived via experimental approaches. The findings suggest the current evidence base is not sufficiently robust or comprehensive at present to answer key questions of Pan-Arctic shrub change. We suggest future directions that could strengthen the evidence, and lead to an understanding of the key mechanisms driving changes in Arctic shrub environments. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Andrew C Martin Elizabeth S Jeffers Gillian Petrokofsky Isla Myers-Smith Marc Macias-Fauria |
author_facet |
Andrew C Martin Elizabeth S Jeffers Gillian Petrokofsky Isla Myers-Smith Marc Macias-Fauria |
author_sort |
Andrew C Martin |
title |
Shrub growth and expansion in the Arctic tundra: an assessment of controlling factors using an evidence-based approach |
title_short |
Shrub growth and expansion in the Arctic tundra: an assessment of controlling factors using an evidence-based approach |
title_full |
Shrub growth and expansion in the Arctic tundra: an assessment of controlling factors using an evidence-based approach |
title_fullStr |
Shrub growth and expansion in the Arctic tundra: an assessment of controlling factors using an evidence-based approach |
title_full_unstemmed |
Shrub growth and expansion in the Arctic tundra: an assessment of controlling factors using an evidence-based approach |
title_sort |
shrub growth and expansion in the arctic tundra: an assessment of controlling factors using an evidence-based approach |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7989 https://doaj.org/article/aaaa8b2bbc6745d89200551afd5595ba |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Tundra |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 12, Iss 8, p 085007 (2017) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7989 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aa7989 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/aaaa8b2bbc6745d89200551afd5595ba |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7989 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
085007 |
_version_ |
1776197941845819392 |