Response of Closely Related Species to Warming in Arctic Alaska

• Main Author: Kremers, Kelseyann
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: ScholarWorks@GVSU 2011
• Subjects: Environment; Global Change; Arctic; Barrow; Climate change; Luzula arctica; Luzula confusa; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ssd/2011/Posters/127

Due to the limiting low temperatures in the arctic, tundra vegetation is greatly affected by warming. In order to predict the effect of global climate change on arctic plants, an experiment was conducted to estimate the impact of increased temperatures on plant growth and flowering. The objective of this study was to compare the responses of two closely related species, Luzula arctica and Luzula confusa, to warming. Data were collected in Barrow and Atqasuk, Alaska during the summers of 1996 through 2010. Plots of vegetation were warmed using open-top fiberglass chambers. L. arctica and L. confusa are common rushes at both study sites and are often associated with disturbances. The results of this study show that L. arctica and L. confusa respond differently to warming in the areas of growth and reproduction. Studies have shown that, in general, arctic plants respond to warming with increased growth and reproductive effort, but these results show that the response may vary by species.