Expansion of deciduous tall shrubs but not evergreen dwarf shrubs inhibited by reindeer in Scandes mountain range
1. One of the most palpable effects of warming in Arctic ecosystems is shrub expansion above the tree line. However, previous studies have found that reindeer can influence plant community responses to warming and inhibit shrubification of the tundra. 2. We revisited grazed (ambient) and ungrazed st...
Published in: | Journal of Ecology |
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Language: | English |
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2017
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Online Access: | https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl:6412674 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12753 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5697633/ https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2745.12753#jec12753-sec-0022-title |
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ftleibnizopen:oai:oai.leibnizopen.de:ZCaKVYsBBwLIz6xGx2VY 2023-11-12T04:14:05+01:00 Expansion of deciduous tall shrubs but not evergreen dwarf shrubs inhibited by reindeer in Scandes mountain range Vowles, Tage Gunnarsson, Bengt Molau, Ulf Hickler, Thomas Klemedtsson, Leif Björk, Robert G. 2017 https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl:6412674 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12753 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5697633/ https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2745.12753#jec12753-sec-0022-title eng eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of ecology, 105(6):1547-1561 plant-herbivore interactions plant diversity reindeer Betula nana Empetrum nigrum shrub heath Calluna vulgaris mountain birch forest 2017 ftleibnizopen https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12753 2023-10-22T23:09:20Z 1. One of the most palpable effects of warming in Arctic ecosystems is shrub expansion above the tree line. However, previous studies have found that reindeer can influence plant community responses to warming and inhibit shrubification of the tundra. 2. We revisited grazed (ambient) and ungrazed study plots (exclosures), at the southern as well as the northern limits of the Swedish alpine region, to study long‐term grazing effects and vegetation changes in response to increasing temperatures between 1995 and 2011, in two vegetation types (shrub heath and mountain birch forest). 3. In the field layer at the shrub heath sites, evergreen dwarf shrubs had increased in cover from 26% to 49% but were unaffected by grazing. Deciduous dwarf and tall shrubs also showed significant, though smaller, increases over time. At the birch forest sites, the increase was similar for evergreen dwarf shrubs (20–48%) but deciduous tall shrubs did not show the same consistent increase over time as in the shrub heath. 4. The cover and height of the shrub layer were significantly greater in exclosures at the shrub heath sites, but no significant treatment effects were found on species richness or diversity. 5. July soil temperatures and growing season thawing degree days (TDD) were higher in exclosures at all but one site, and there was a significant negative correlation between mean shrub layer height and soil TDD at the shrub heath sites. 6. Synthesis. This study shows that shrub expansion is occurring rapidly in the Scandes mountain range, both above and below the tree line. Tall, deciduous shrubs had benefitted significantly from grazing exclosure, both in terms of cover and height, which in turn lowered summer soil temperatures. However, the overriding vegetation shift across our sites was the striking increase in evergreen dwarf shrubs, which were not influenced by grazing. As the effects of an increase in evergreen dwarf shrubs and more recalcitrant plant litter may to some degree counteract some of the effects of an increase in ... Other/Unknown Material Arctic Betula nana Empetrum nigrum Tundra Unknown Arctic Journal of Ecology 105 6 1547 1561 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
ftleibnizopen |
language |
English |
topic |
plant-herbivore interactions plant diversity reindeer Betula nana Empetrum nigrum shrub heath Calluna vulgaris mountain birch forest |
spellingShingle |
plant-herbivore interactions plant diversity reindeer Betula nana Empetrum nigrum shrub heath Calluna vulgaris mountain birch forest Vowles, Tage Gunnarsson, Bengt Molau, Ulf Hickler, Thomas Klemedtsson, Leif Björk, Robert G. Expansion of deciduous tall shrubs but not evergreen dwarf shrubs inhibited by reindeer in Scandes mountain range |
topic_facet |
plant-herbivore interactions plant diversity reindeer Betula nana Empetrum nigrum shrub heath Calluna vulgaris mountain birch forest |
description |
1. One of the most palpable effects of warming in Arctic ecosystems is shrub expansion above the tree line. However, previous studies have found that reindeer can influence plant community responses to warming and inhibit shrubification of the tundra. 2. We revisited grazed (ambient) and ungrazed study plots (exclosures), at the southern as well as the northern limits of the Swedish alpine region, to study long‐term grazing effects and vegetation changes in response to increasing temperatures between 1995 and 2011, in two vegetation types (shrub heath and mountain birch forest). 3. In the field layer at the shrub heath sites, evergreen dwarf shrubs had increased in cover from 26% to 49% but were unaffected by grazing. Deciduous dwarf and tall shrubs also showed significant, though smaller, increases over time. At the birch forest sites, the increase was similar for evergreen dwarf shrubs (20–48%) but deciduous tall shrubs did not show the same consistent increase over time as in the shrub heath. 4. The cover and height of the shrub layer were significantly greater in exclosures at the shrub heath sites, but no significant treatment effects were found on species richness or diversity. 5. July soil temperatures and growing season thawing degree days (TDD) were higher in exclosures at all but one site, and there was a significant negative correlation between mean shrub layer height and soil TDD at the shrub heath sites. 6. Synthesis. This study shows that shrub expansion is occurring rapidly in the Scandes mountain range, both above and below the tree line. Tall, deciduous shrubs had benefitted significantly from grazing exclosure, both in terms of cover and height, which in turn lowered summer soil temperatures. However, the overriding vegetation shift across our sites was the striking increase in evergreen dwarf shrubs, which were not influenced by grazing. As the effects of an increase in evergreen dwarf shrubs and more recalcitrant plant litter may to some degree counteract some of the effects of an increase in ... |
author |
Vowles, Tage Gunnarsson, Bengt Molau, Ulf Hickler, Thomas Klemedtsson, Leif Björk, Robert G. |
author_facet |
Vowles, Tage Gunnarsson, Bengt Molau, Ulf Hickler, Thomas Klemedtsson, Leif Björk, Robert G. |
author_sort |
Vowles, Tage |
title |
Expansion of deciduous tall shrubs but not evergreen dwarf shrubs inhibited by reindeer in Scandes mountain range |
title_short |
Expansion of deciduous tall shrubs but not evergreen dwarf shrubs inhibited by reindeer in Scandes mountain range |
title_full |
Expansion of deciduous tall shrubs but not evergreen dwarf shrubs inhibited by reindeer in Scandes mountain range |
title_fullStr |
Expansion of deciduous tall shrubs but not evergreen dwarf shrubs inhibited by reindeer in Scandes mountain range |
title_full_unstemmed |
Expansion of deciduous tall shrubs but not evergreen dwarf shrubs inhibited by reindeer in Scandes mountain range |
title_sort |
expansion of deciduous tall shrubs but not evergreen dwarf shrubs inhibited by reindeer in scandes mountain range |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl:6412674 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12753 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5697633/ https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2745.12753#jec12753-sec-0022-title |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Betula nana Empetrum nigrum Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Betula nana Empetrum nigrum Tundra |
op_source |
Journal of ecology, 105(6):1547-1561 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12753 |
container_title |
Journal of Ecology |
container_volume |
105 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1547 |
op_container_end_page |
1561 |
_version_ |
1782331795216269312 |