Data from: Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities
Background: Shrub cover in arctic and alpine ecosystems has increased in recent decades, and is predicted to further increase with climate change. Changes in shrub abundance may alter ecosystem carbon (C) sequestration and storage, with potential positive feedback on global C cycling. Small and larg...
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ftdryad:oai:v1.datadryad.org:10255/dryad.188682 2023-05-15T15:03:44+02:00 Data from: Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities Sørensen, Mia Vedel Graae, Bente Jessen Hagen, Dagmar Enquist, Brian Joseph Nystuen, Kristin Odden Strimbeck, Richard Central Norway Holocene 2018-08-23T14:07:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.188682 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ht348n1 unknown doi:10.5061/dryad.ht348n1/1 doi:10.1186/s12898-018-0185-9 doi:10.5061/dryad.ht348n1 Sørensen MV, Graae BJ, Hagen D, Enquist BJ, Nystuen KO, Strimbeck R (2018) Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities. BMC Ecology 18: 29. http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.188682 Gross ecosystem photosynthesis ecosystem respiration Salix grazing tundra meadow heath shrub expansion herbivory biomass Article 2018 ftdryad https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ht348n1 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ht348n1/1 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-018-0185-9 2020-01-01T16:13:52Z Background: Shrub cover in arctic and alpine ecosystems has increased in recent decades, and is predicted to further increase with climate change. Changes in shrub abundance may alter ecosystem carbon (C) sequestration and storage, with potential positive feedback on global C cycling. Small and large herbivores may reduce shrub expansion and thereby counteract the positive feedback on C cycling, but herbivore pressures have also changed in the alpine-arctic tundra; the increased shrub cover together with changes in herbivore pressure is leading to unpredictable changes in carbon sequestration and storage. In this study we investigate the importance of herbivory and shrub introduction for carbon sequestration in the short term. We measured standing biomass and daytime mid-growing season carbon fluxes in plots in a full factorial design where we excluded small and large mammalian herbivores and introduced Salix by planting Salix transplants. We used three study sites: one Empetrum-dominated heath, one herb- and cryptogam-dominated meadow, and one Salix-dominated shrub community in the low-alpine zone of the Dovre Mountains, Central Norway. Results: After 2 years, significant treatment effects were recorded in the heath community, but not in the meadow and shrub communities. In the heath community cessation of herbivory increased standing biomass due to increased biomass of dwarf shrubs. Cessation of herbivory also reduced biomass of bryophytes and ecosystem respiration (ER). Except for an increase in biomass of deciduous shrubs caused by the Salix introduction, the only effect of Salix introduction was an increase in biomass of graminoids in the heath. Conclusions: Our short-term study demonstrated that herbivore exclusion had small but still significant effects on heath vegetation, whereas such effects were not apparent in the herb-and cryptogam-dominated meadow and the Salix-dominated shrub community. Following the treatments over more years is needed to estimate the long-term effects on community structure and the consequences for C sequestration in the three plant communities. Such data are important for predicting the impact of shrub expansion on C budgets from alpine regions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Tundra Dryad Digital Repository (Duke University) Arctic Norway |
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Open Polar |
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Dryad Digital Repository (Duke University) |
op_collection_id |
ftdryad |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Gross ecosystem photosynthesis ecosystem respiration Salix grazing tundra meadow heath shrub expansion herbivory biomass |
spellingShingle |
Gross ecosystem photosynthesis ecosystem respiration Salix grazing tundra meadow heath shrub expansion herbivory biomass Sørensen, Mia Vedel Graae, Bente Jessen Hagen, Dagmar Enquist, Brian Joseph Nystuen, Kristin Odden Strimbeck, Richard Data from: Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities |
topic_facet |
Gross ecosystem photosynthesis ecosystem respiration Salix grazing tundra meadow heath shrub expansion herbivory biomass |
description |
Background: Shrub cover in arctic and alpine ecosystems has increased in recent decades, and is predicted to further increase with climate change. Changes in shrub abundance may alter ecosystem carbon (C) sequestration and storage, with potential positive feedback on global C cycling. Small and large herbivores may reduce shrub expansion and thereby counteract the positive feedback on C cycling, but herbivore pressures have also changed in the alpine-arctic tundra; the increased shrub cover together with changes in herbivore pressure is leading to unpredictable changes in carbon sequestration and storage. In this study we investigate the importance of herbivory and shrub introduction for carbon sequestration in the short term. We measured standing biomass and daytime mid-growing season carbon fluxes in plots in a full factorial design where we excluded small and large mammalian herbivores and introduced Salix by planting Salix transplants. We used three study sites: one Empetrum-dominated heath, one herb- and cryptogam-dominated meadow, and one Salix-dominated shrub community in the low-alpine zone of the Dovre Mountains, Central Norway. Results: After 2 years, significant treatment effects were recorded in the heath community, but not in the meadow and shrub communities. In the heath community cessation of herbivory increased standing biomass due to increased biomass of dwarf shrubs. Cessation of herbivory also reduced biomass of bryophytes and ecosystem respiration (ER). Except for an increase in biomass of deciduous shrubs caused by the Salix introduction, the only effect of Salix introduction was an increase in biomass of graminoids in the heath. Conclusions: Our short-term study demonstrated that herbivore exclusion had small but still significant effects on heath vegetation, whereas such effects were not apparent in the herb-and cryptogam-dominated meadow and the Salix-dominated shrub community. Following the treatments over more years is needed to estimate the long-term effects on community structure and the consequences for C sequestration in the three plant communities. Such data are important for predicting the impact of shrub expansion on C budgets from alpine regions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sørensen, Mia Vedel Graae, Bente Jessen Hagen, Dagmar Enquist, Brian Joseph Nystuen, Kristin Odden Strimbeck, Richard |
author_facet |
Sørensen, Mia Vedel Graae, Bente Jessen Hagen, Dagmar Enquist, Brian Joseph Nystuen, Kristin Odden Strimbeck, Richard |
author_sort |
Sørensen, Mia Vedel |
title |
Data from: Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities |
title_short |
Data from: Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities |
title_full |
Data from: Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities |
title_fullStr |
Data from: Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Data from: Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities |
title_sort |
data from: experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.188682 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ht348n1 |
op_coverage |
Central Norway Holocene |
geographic |
Arctic Norway |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Norway |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Tundra |
op_relation |
doi:10.5061/dryad.ht348n1/1 doi:10.1186/s12898-018-0185-9 doi:10.5061/dryad.ht348n1 Sørensen MV, Graae BJ, Hagen D, Enquist BJ, Nystuen KO, Strimbeck R (2018) Experimental herbivore exclusion, shrub introduction, and carbon sequestration in alpine plant communities. BMC Ecology 18: 29. http://hdl.handle.net/10255/dryad.188682 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ht348n1 https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ht348n1/1 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-018-0185-9 |
_version_ |
1766335592422965248 |