High resistance to climatic variability in a dominant tundra shrub species
Climate change is modifying temperature and precipitation regimes across all seasons in northern ecosystems. Summer temperatures are higher, growing seasons extend into spring and fall and snow cover conditions are more variable during winter. The resistance of dominant tundra species to these seaso...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:fb23e1c9c6a845819f7c302be67ef60a 2024-01-07T09:43:00+01:00 High resistance to climatic variability in a dominant tundra shrub species Victoria T. González Mikel Moriana-Armendariz Snorre B. Hagen Bente Lindgård Rigmor Reiersen Kari Anne Bråthen 2019-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6967 https://doaj.org/article/fb23e1c9c6a845819f7c302be67ef60a EN eng PeerJ Inc. https://peerj.com/articles/6967.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/6967/ https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359 doi:10.7717/peerj.6967 2167-8359 https://doaj.org/article/fb23e1c9c6a845819f7c302be67ef60a PeerJ, Vol 7, p e6967 (2019) Niche constructor Growing degree days Freezing days Climate change Precipitation Shrubs Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6967 2023-12-10T01:50:28Z Climate change is modifying temperature and precipitation regimes across all seasons in northern ecosystems. Summer temperatures are higher, growing seasons extend into spring and fall and snow cover conditions are more variable during winter. The resistance of dominant tundra species to these season-specific changes, with each season potentially having contrasting effects on their growth and survival, can determine the future of tundra plant communities under climate change. In our study, we evaluated the effects of several spring/summer and winter climatic variables (i.e., summer temperature, growing season length, growing degree days, and number of winter freezing days) on the resistance of the dwarf shrub Empetrum nigrum. We measured over six years the ability of E. nigrum to keep a stable shoot growth, berry production, and vegetative cover in five E. nigrum dominated tundra heathlands, in a total of 144 plots covering a 200-km gradient from oceanic to continental climate. Overall, E. nigrum displayed high resistance to climatic variation along the gradient, with positive growth and reproductive output during all years and sites. Climatic conditions varied sharply among sites, especially during the winter months, finding that exposure to freezing temperatures during winter was correlated with reduced shoot length and berry production. These negative effects however, could be compensated if the following growing season was warm and long. Our study demonstrates that E. nigrum is a species resistant to fluctuating climatic conditions during the growing season and winter months in both oceanic and continental areas. Overall, E. nigrum appeared frost hardy and its resistance was determined by interactions among different season-specific climatic conditions with contrasting effects. Article in Journal/Newspaper Empetrum nigrum Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PeerJ 7 e6967 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Niche constructor Growing degree days Freezing days Climate change Precipitation Shrubs Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
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Niche constructor Growing degree days Freezing days Climate change Precipitation Shrubs Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Victoria T. González Mikel Moriana-Armendariz Snorre B. Hagen Bente Lindgård Rigmor Reiersen Kari Anne Bråthen High resistance to climatic variability in a dominant tundra shrub species |
topic_facet |
Niche constructor Growing degree days Freezing days Climate change Precipitation Shrubs Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
Climate change is modifying temperature and precipitation regimes across all seasons in northern ecosystems. Summer temperatures are higher, growing seasons extend into spring and fall and snow cover conditions are more variable during winter. The resistance of dominant tundra species to these season-specific changes, with each season potentially having contrasting effects on their growth and survival, can determine the future of tundra plant communities under climate change. In our study, we evaluated the effects of several spring/summer and winter climatic variables (i.e., summer temperature, growing season length, growing degree days, and number of winter freezing days) on the resistance of the dwarf shrub Empetrum nigrum. We measured over six years the ability of E. nigrum to keep a stable shoot growth, berry production, and vegetative cover in five E. nigrum dominated tundra heathlands, in a total of 144 plots covering a 200-km gradient from oceanic to continental climate. Overall, E. nigrum displayed high resistance to climatic variation along the gradient, with positive growth and reproductive output during all years and sites. Climatic conditions varied sharply among sites, especially during the winter months, finding that exposure to freezing temperatures during winter was correlated with reduced shoot length and berry production. These negative effects however, could be compensated if the following growing season was warm and long. Our study demonstrates that E. nigrum is a species resistant to fluctuating climatic conditions during the growing season and winter months in both oceanic and continental areas. Overall, E. nigrum appeared frost hardy and its resistance was determined by interactions among different season-specific climatic conditions with contrasting effects. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Victoria T. González Mikel Moriana-Armendariz Snorre B. Hagen Bente Lindgård Rigmor Reiersen Kari Anne Bråthen |
author_facet |
Victoria T. González Mikel Moriana-Armendariz Snorre B. Hagen Bente Lindgård Rigmor Reiersen Kari Anne Bråthen |
author_sort |
Victoria T. González |
title |
High resistance to climatic variability in a dominant tundra shrub species |
title_short |
High resistance to climatic variability in a dominant tundra shrub species |
title_full |
High resistance to climatic variability in a dominant tundra shrub species |
title_fullStr |
High resistance to climatic variability in a dominant tundra shrub species |
title_full_unstemmed |
High resistance to climatic variability in a dominant tundra shrub species |
title_sort |
high resistance to climatic variability in a dominant tundra shrub species |
publisher |
PeerJ Inc. |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6967 https://doaj.org/article/fb23e1c9c6a845819f7c302be67ef60a |
genre |
Empetrum nigrum Tundra |
genre_facet |
Empetrum nigrum Tundra |
op_source |
PeerJ, Vol 7, p e6967 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://peerj.com/articles/6967.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/6967/ https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359 doi:10.7717/peerj.6967 2167-8359 https://doaj.org/article/fb23e1c9c6a845819f7c302be67ef60a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6967 |
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PeerJ |
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7 |
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e6967 |
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