Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome
The tundra is warming more rapidly than any other biome on Earth, and the potential ramifications are far-reaching because of global feedback effects between vegetation and climate. A better understanding of how environmental factors shape plant structure and function is crucial for predicting the c...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0563-7 |
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fteawag:oai:dora:eawag_17724 2024-09-15T18:39:35+00:00 Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome Bjorkman, Anne D. Myers-Smith, Isla H. Elmendorf, Sarah C. Normand, Signe Rüger, Nadja Beck, Pieter S.A. Blach-Overgaard, Anne Blok, Daan Cornelissen, J. Hans C. Forbes, Bruce C. Little, Chelsea J. Weiher, Evan 2018 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0563-7 eng eng Springer Nature Nature--Nature--0028-0836--1476-4687--journals:2176 eawag:17724 issn: 0028-0836 e-issn: 1476-4687 journal id: journals:2176 doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0563-7 ut: 000446187900037 scopus: 2-s2.0-85054332128 pmid: 30258229 Journal Article Text 2018 fteawag https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0563-7 2024-08-05T03:04:28Z The tundra is warming more rapidly than any other biome on Earth, and the potential ramifications are far-reaching because of global feedback effects between vegetation and climate. A better understanding of how environmental factors shape plant structure and function is crucial for predicting the consequences of environmental change for ecosystem functioning. Here we explore the biome-wide relationships between temperature, moisture and seven key plant functional traits both across space and over three decades of warming at 117 tundra locations. Spatial temperature–trait relationships were generally strong but soil moisture had a marked influence on the strength and direction of these relationships, highlighting the potentially important influence of changes in water availability on future trait shifts in tundra plant communities. Community height increased with warming across all sites over the past three decades, but other traits lagged far behind predicted rates of change. Our findings highlight the challenge of using space-for-time substitution to predict the functional consequences of future warming and suggest that functions that are tied closely to plant height will experience the most rapid change. They also reveal the strength with which environmental factors shape biotic communities at the coldest extremes of the planet and will help to improve projections of functional changes in tundra ecosystems with climate warming. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra DORA Eawag Nature 562 7725 57 62 |
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English |
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The tundra is warming more rapidly than any other biome on Earth, and the potential ramifications are far-reaching because of global feedback effects between vegetation and climate. A better understanding of how environmental factors shape plant structure and function is crucial for predicting the consequences of environmental change for ecosystem functioning. Here we explore the biome-wide relationships between temperature, moisture and seven key plant functional traits both across space and over three decades of warming at 117 tundra locations. Spatial temperature–trait relationships were generally strong but soil moisture had a marked influence on the strength and direction of these relationships, highlighting the potentially important influence of changes in water availability on future trait shifts in tundra plant communities. Community height increased with warming across all sites over the past three decades, but other traits lagged far behind predicted rates of change. Our findings highlight the challenge of using space-for-time substitution to predict the functional consequences of future warming and suggest that functions that are tied closely to plant height will experience the most rapid change. They also reveal the strength with which environmental factors shape biotic communities at the coldest extremes of the planet and will help to improve projections of functional changes in tundra ecosystems with climate warming. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bjorkman, Anne D. Myers-Smith, Isla H. Elmendorf, Sarah C. Normand, Signe Rüger, Nadja Beck, Pieter S.A. Blach-Overgaard, Anne Blok, Daan Cornelissen, J. Hans C. Forbes, Bruce C. Little, Chelsea J. Weiher, Evan |
spellingShingle |
Bjorkman, Anne D. Myers-Smith, Isla H. Elmendorf, Sarah C. Normand, Signe Rüger, Nadja Beck, Pieter S.A. Blach-Overgaard, Anne Blok, Daan Cornelissen, J. Hans C. Forbes, Bruce C. Little, Chelsea J. Weiher, Evan Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome |
author_facet |
Bjorkman, Anne D. Myers-Smith, Isla H. Elmendorf, Sarah C. Normand, Signe Rüger, Nadja Beck, Pieter S.A. Blach-Overgaard, Anne Blok, Daan Cornelissen, J. Hans C. Forbes, Bruce C. Little, Chelsea J. Weiher, Evan |
author_sort |
Bjorkman, Anne D. |
title |
Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome |
title_short |
Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome |
title_full |
Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome |
title_fullStr |
Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome |
title_full_unstemmed |
Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome |
title_sort |
plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome |
publisher |
Springer Nature |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0563-7 |
genre |
Tundra |
genre_facet |
Tundra |
op_relation |
Nature--Nature--0028-0836--1476-4687--journals:2176 eawag:17724 issn: 0028-0836 e-issn: 1476-4687 journal id: journals:2176 doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0563-7 ut: 000446187900037 scopus: 2-s2.0-85054332128 pmid: 30258229 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0563-7 |
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Nature |
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562 |
container_issue |
7725 |
container_start_page |
57 |
op_container_end_page |
62 |
_version_ |
1810483941676679168 |