Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome
The tundra biome is experiencing rapid temperature increases that have been linked to a shift in tundra vegetation composition towards greater shrub dominance. Shrub expansion can amplify warming by altering the surface albedo, energy and water balance, and permafrost temperatures. To account for th...
Published in: | Nature Climate Change |
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NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
2015
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Online Access: | https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC90262 http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2697.html https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE2697 |
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ftjrc:oai:publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu:JRC90262 2024-09-15T17:35:49+00:00 Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome MYERS-SMITH Isla H. ELMENDORF Sarah BECK Pieter WILMKING Martin HALLINGER Martin BLOK Daan TAPE Ken D. RAYBACK Shelly A. MACIAS-FAURIA Marc FORBES Bruce SPEED James D. M. BOULANGER-LAPOINTE Noémie RIXEN Christian LÉVESQUE Esther SCHMIDT Niels Martin BAITTINGER Claudia TRANT Andrew J HERMANUTZ Luise COLLIER Laura Siegwart DAWES Melissa A. LANTZ Trevor WEIJERS Stef JØRGENSEN Rasmus Halfdan BUCHWAL Agata BURAS Allan NAITO Adam T RAVOLAINEN Virve SCHAEPMAN-STRUB Gabriela WHEELER Julia A. WIPF Sonja GUAY Kevin C. HIK David VELLEND Mark 2015 Print https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC90262 http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2697.html https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE2697 eng eng NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP JRC90262 2015 ftjrc https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE2697 2024-07-22T04:42:16Z The tundra biome is experiencing rapid temperature increases that have been linked to a shift in tundra vegetation composition towards greater shrub dominance. Shrub expansion can amplify warming by altering the surface albedo, energy and water balance, and permafrost temperatures. To account for these feedbacks, global climate models must include realistic projections of vegetation dynamics, and in particular tundra shrub expansion, yet the mechanisms driving shrub expansion remain poorly understood. Dendroecological data consisting of multi-decadal time series of annual growth of shrub species provide a previously untapped resource to explore climate-growth relationships across the tundra biome. We analysed a dataset of approximately 42,000 annual growth records from 1821 individuals, comprising 25 species from eight genera, from 37 arctic and alpine sites. Our analyses demonstrate that the sensitivity of shrub growth to climate was (1) heterogeneous across the tundra biome, (2) greater at sites with higher soil moisture and (3) strongest for taller shrub species growing at the northern or upper elevational edge of their range. Across latitudinal gradients in the Arctic, climate sensitivity of growth was greatest at the boundary between low- and high-arctic vegetation zones, where permafrost conditions are changing and the majority of the global permafrost soil carbon pool is stored. Thus, in order to more accurately estimate feedbacks among shrub change, albedo, permafrost thaw, carbon storage and climate, the observed variation in climate-growth relationships of shrub species across the tundra biome will need to be incorporated into earth system models. JRC.H.3 - Forest Resources and Climate Other/Unknown Material albedo permafrost Tundra Joint Research Centre, European Commission: JRC Publications Repository Nature Climate Change 5 9 887 891 |
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Open Polar |
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Joint Research Centre, European Commission: JRC Publications Repository |
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ftjrc |
language |
English |
description |
The tundra biome is experiencing rapid temperature increases that have been linked to a shift in tundra vegetation composition towards greater shrub dominance. Shrub expansion can amplify warming by altering the surface albedo, energy and water balance, and permafrost temperatures. To account for these feedbacks, global climate models must include realistic projections of vegetation dynamics, and in particular tundra shrub expansion, yet the mechanisms driving shrub expansion remain poorly understood. Dendroecological data consisting of multi-decadal time series of annual growth of shrub species provide a previously untapped resource to explore climate-growth relationships across the tundra biome. We analysed a dataset of approximately 42,000 annual growth records from 1821 individuals, comprising 25 species from eight genera, from 37 arctic and alpine sites. Our analyses demonstrate that the sensitivity of shrub growth to climate was (1) heterogeneous across the tundra biome, (2) greater at sites with higher soil moisture and (3) strongest for taller shrub species growing at the northern or upper elevational edge of their range. Across latitudinal gradients in the Arctic, climate sensitivity of growth was greatest at the boundary between low- and high-arctic vegetation zones, where permafrost conditions are changing and the majority of the global permafrost soil carbon pool is stored. Thus, in order to more accurately estimate feedbacks among shrub change, albedo, permafrost thaw, carbon storage and climate, the observed variation in climate-growth relationships of shrub species across the tundra biome will need to be incorporated into earth system models. JRC.H.3 - Forest Resources and Climate |
author |
MYERS-SMITH Isla H. ELMENDORF Sarah BECK Pieter WILMKING Martin HALLINGER Martin BLOK Daan TAPE Ken D. RAYBACK Shelly A. MACIAS-FAURIA Marc FORBES Bruce SPEED James D. M. BOULANGER-LAPOINTE Noémie RIXEN Christian LÉVESQUE Esther SCHMIDT Niels Martin BAITTINGER Claudia TRANT Andrew J HERMANUTZ Luise COLLIER Laura Siegwart DAWES Melissa A. LANTZ Trevor WEIJERS Stef JØRGENSEN Rasmus Halfdan BUCHWAL Agata BURAS Allan NAITO Adam T RAVOLAINEN Virve SCHAEPMAN-STRUB Gabriela WHEELER Julia A. WIPF Sonja GUAY Kevin C. HIK David VELLEND Mark |
spellingShingle |
MYERS-SMITH Isla H. ELMENDORF Sarah BECK Pieter WILMKING Martin HALLINGER Martin BLOK Daan TAPE Ken D. RAYBACK Shelly A. MACIAS-FAURIA Marc FORBES Bruce SPEED James D. M. BOULANGER-LAPOINTE Noémie RIXEN Christian LÉVESQUE Esther SCHMIDT Niels Martin BAITTINGER Claudia TRANT Andrew J HERMANUTZ Luise COLLIER Laura Siegwart DAWES Melissa A. LANTZ Trevor WEIJERS Stef JØRGENSEN Rasmus Halfdan BUCHWAL Agata BURAS Allan NAITO Adam T RAVOLAINEN Virve SCHAEPMAN-STRUB Gabriela WHEELER Julia A. WIPF Sonja GUAY Kevin C. HIK David VELLEND Mark Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome |
author_facet |
MYERS-SMITH Isla H. ELMENDORF Sarah BECK Pieter WILMKING Martin HALLINGER Martin BLOK Daan TAPE Ken D. RAYBACK Shelly A. MACIAS-FAURIA Marc FORBES Bruce SPEED James D. M. BOULANGER-LAPOINTE Noémie RIXEN Christian LÉVESQUE Esther SCHMIDT Niels Martin BAITTINGER Claudia TRANT Andrew J HERMANUTZ Luise COLLIER Laura Siegwart DAWES Melissa A. LANTZ Trevor WEIJERS Stef JØRGENSEN Rasmus Halfdan BUCHWAL Agata BURAS Allan NAITO Adam T RAVOLAINEN Virve SCHAEPMAN-STRUB Gabriela WHEELER Julia A. WIPF Sonja GUAY Kevin C. HIK David VELLEND Mark |
author_sort |
MYERS-SMITH Isla H. |
title |
Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome |
title_short |
Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome |
title_full |
Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome |
title_fullStr |
Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome |
title_sort |
climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome |
publisher |
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC90262 http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2697.html https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE2697 |
genre |
albedo permafrost Tundra |
genre_facet |
albedo permafrost Tundra |
op_relation |
JRC90262 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE2697 |
container_title |
Nature Climate Change |
container_volume |
5 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
887 |
op_container_end_page |
891 |
_version_ |
1810480907293818880 |