Local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: Negative implications for climate change vulnerability
Global change is modifying species communities from local to landscape scales, with alterations in the abiotic and biotic determinants of geographic range limits causing species range shifts along both latitudinal and elevational gradients. An important but often overlooked component of global chang...
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ftethz:oai:www.research-collection.ethz.ch:20.500.11850/294347 2023-08-15T12:43:04+02:00 Local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: Negative implications for climate change vulnerability Chardon, Nathalie Isabelle Wipf, Sonja Rixen, Christian Beilstein, Annabarbara Doak, Daniel Forest 2018-08 application/application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/294347 https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000294347 en eng Wiley info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1002/ece3.4276 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/000444946300015 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/294347 doi:10.3929/ethz-b-000294347 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Ecology and Evolution, 8 (16) alpine climate change disturbance facilitation Silene acaulis Switzerland info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2018 ftethz https://doi.org/20.500.11850/29434710.3929/ethz-b-00029434710.1002/ece3.4276 2023-07-23T23:46:08Z Global change is modifying species communities from local to landscape scales, with alterations in the abiotic and biotic determinants of geographic range limits causing species range shifts along both latitudinal and elevational gradients. An important but often overlooked component of global change is the effect of anthropogenic disturbance, and how it interacts with the effects of climate to affect both species and communities, as well as interspecies interactions, such as facilitation and competition. We examined the effects of frequent human trampling disturbances on alpine plant communities in Switzerland, focusing on the elevational range of the widely distributed cushion plant Silene acaulis and the interactions of this facilitator species with other plants. Examining size distributions and densities, we found that disturbance appears to favor individual Silene growth at middle elevations. However, it has negative effects at the population level, as evidenced by a reduction in population density and reproductive indices. Disturbance synergistically interacts with the effects of elevation to reduce species richness at low and high elevations, an effect not mitigated by Silene. In fact, we find predominantly competitive interactions, both by Silene on its hosted and neighboring species and by neighboring (but not hosted) species on Silene. Our results indicate that disturbance can be beneficial for Silene individual performance, potentially through changes in its neighboring species community. However, possible reduced recruitment in disturbed areas could eventually lead to population declines. While other studies have shown that light to moderate disturbances can maintain high species diversity, our results emphasize that heavier disturbance reduces species richness, diversity, as well as percent cover, and adversely affects cushion plants and that these effects are not substantially reduced by plant–plant interactions. Heavily disturbed alpine systems could therefore be at greater risk for upward ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Silene acaulis ETH Zürich Research Collection |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
ETH Zürich Research Collection |
op_collection_id |
ftethz |
language |
English |
topic |
alpine climate change disturbance facilitation Silene acaulis Switzerland |
spellingShingle |
alpine climate change disturbance facilitation Silene acaulis Switzerland Chardon, Nathalie Isabelle Wipf, Sonja Rixen, Christian Beilstein, Annabarbara Doak, Daniel Forest Local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: Negative implications for climate change vulnerability |
topic_facet |
alpine climate change disturbance facilitation Silene acaulis Switzerland |
description |
Global change is modifying species communities from local to landscape scales, with alterations in the abiotic and biotic determinants of geographic range limits causing species range shifts along both latitudinal and elevational gradients. An important but often overlooked component of global change is the effect of anthropogenic disturbance, and how it interacts with the effects of climate to affect both species and communities, as well as interspecies interactions, such as facilitation and competition. We examined the effects of frequent human trampling disturbances on alpine plant communities in Switzerland, focusing on the elevational range of the widely distributed cushion plant Silene acaulis and the interactions of this facilitator species with other plants. Examining size distributions and densities, we found that disturbance appears to favor individual Silene growth at middle elevations. However, it has negative effects at the population level, as evidenced by a reduction in population density and reproductive indices. Disturbance synergistically interacts with the effects of elevation to reduce species richness at low and high elevations, an effect not mitigated by Silene. In fact, we find predominantly competitive interactions, both by Silene on its hosted and neighboring species and by neighboring (but not hosted) species on Silene. Our results indicate that disturbance can be beneficial for Silene individual performance, potentially through changes in its neighboring species community. However, possible reduced recruitment in disturbed areas could eventually lead to population declines. While other studies have shown that light to moderate disturbances can maintain high species diversity, our results emphasize that heavier disturbance reduces species richness, diversity, as well as percent cover, and adversely affects cushion plants and that these effects are not substantially reduced by plant–plant interactions. Heavily disturbed alpine systems could therefore be at greater risk for upward ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Chardon, Nathalie Isabelle Wipf, Sonja Rixen, Christian Beilstein, Annabarbara Doak, Daniel Forest |
author_facet |
Chardon, Nathalie Isabelle Wipf, Sonja Rixen, Christian Beilstein, Annabarbara Doak, Daniel Forest |
author_sort |
Chardon, Nathalie Isabelle |
title |
Local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: Negative implications for climate change vulnerability |
title_short |
Local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: Negative implications for climate change vulnerability |
title_full |
Local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: Negative implications for climate change vulnerability |
title_fullStr |
Local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: Negative implications for climate change vulnerability |
title_full_unstemmed |
Local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: Negative implications for climate change vulnerability |
title_sort |
local trampling disturbance effects on alpine plant populations and communities: negative implications for climate change vulnerability |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/294347 https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000294347 |
genre |
Silene acaulis |
genre_facet |
Silene acaulis |
op_source |
Ecology and Evolution, 8 (16) |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1002/ece3.4276 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/000444946300015 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/294347 doi:10.3929/ethz-b-000294347 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/20.500.11850/29434710.3929/ethz-b-00029434710.1002/ece3.4276 |
_version_ |
1774298671403237376 |