Snow cover consistently affects growth and reproduction of Empetrum hermaphroditum across latitudinal and local climatic gradients
Arctic ecosystems face strong changes in snow conditions due to global warming. In contrast to habitat specialists, species occupying a wide range of microhabitats under different snow conditions may better cope with such changes. We studied how growth and reproduction of the dominant dwarf shrub Em...
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ftufz:oai:ufz.de:15396 2023-12-10T09:46:07+01:00 Snow cover consistently affects growth and reproduction of Empetrum hermaphroditum across latitudinal and local climatic gradients Bienau, Miriam Hattermann, D. Kröncke, M. Kretz, L. Otte, A. Eiserhardt, W.L. Milbau, A. Graae, B.J. Durka, Walter Eckstein, R.L. 2014-09-04 application/pdf https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=15396 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-014-0137-8 en eng Springer Alpine Botany 124 (2);; 115 - 129 https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=15396 https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00035-014-0137-8 info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess ISSN: 1664-2201 Empetrum hermaphroditum Snow cover gradient Growth response info:eu-repo/semantics/article https://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text 2014 ftufz https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-014-0137-8 2023-11-12T23:33:01Z Arctic ecosystems face strong changes in snow conditions due to global warming. In contrast to habitat specialists, species occupying a wide range of microhabitats under different snow conditions may better cope with such changes. We studied how growth and reproduction of the dominant dwarf shrub Empetrum hermaphroditum varied among three habitat types differing in winter snow depth and summer irradiation, and whether the observed patterns were consistent along a local climatic gradient (sub-continental vs. sub-oceanic climates) and along a latitudinal gradient (northern Sweden vs. central Norway). Habitat type explained most of the variation in growth and reproduction. Shoots from shallow snow cover and high summer irradiation habitats had higher numbers of flowers and fruits, lower ramet heights, shorter shoot segments, lower numbers of lateral shoots and total biomass but higher leaf density and higher relative leaf allocation than shoots from habitats with higher snow depth and lower summer irradiation. In addition, biomass, leaf allocation and leaf life expectancy were strongly affected by latitude, whereas local climate had strong effects on seed number and seed mass. Empetrum showed high phenotypic trait variation, with a consistent match between local habitat conditions and its growth and reproduction. Although study areas varied strongly with respect to latitude and local climatic conditions, response patterns of growth and reproduction to habitats with different environmental conditions were consistent. Large elasticity of traits suggests that Empetrum may have the potential to cope with changing snow conditions expected in the course of climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Global warming Northern Sweden UFZ - Publication Index (Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research) Arctic Norway Alpine Botany 124 2 115 129 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
UFZ - Publication Index (Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research) |
op_collection_id |
ftufz |
language |
English |
topic |
Empetrum hermaphroditum Snow cover gradient Growth response |
spellingShingle |
Empetrum hermaphroditum Snow cover gradient Growth response Bienau, Miriam Hattermann, D. Kröncke, M. Kretz, L. Otte, A. Eiserhardt, W.L. Milbau, A. Graae, B.J. Durka, Walter Eckstein, R.L. Snow cover consistently affects growth and reproduction of Empetrum hermaphroditum across latitudinal and local climatic gradients |
topic_facet |
Empetrum hermaphroditum Snow cover gradient Growth response |
description |
Arctic ecosystems face strong changes in snow conditions due to global warming. In contrast to habitat specialists, species occupying a wide range of microhabitats under different snow conditions may better cope with such changes. We studied how growth and reproduction of the dominant dwarf shrub Empetrum hermaphroditum varied among three habitat types differing in winter snow depth and summer irradiation, and whether the observed patterns were consistent along a local climatic gradient (sub-continental vs. sub-oceanic climates) and along a latitudinal gradient (northern Sweden vs. central Norway). Habitat type explained most of the variation in growth and reproduction. Shoots from shallow snow cover and high summer irradiation habitats had higher numbers of flowers and fruits, lower ramet heights, shorter shoot segments, lower numbers of lateral shoots and total biomass but higher leaf density and higher relative leaf allocation than shoots from habitats with higher snow depth and lower summer irradiation. In addition, biomass, leaf allocation and leaf life expectancy were strongly affected by latitude, whereas local climate had strong effects on seed number and seed mass. Empetrum showed high phenotypic trait variation, with a consistent match between local habitat conditions and its growth and reproduction. Although study areas varied strongly with respect to latitude and local climatic conditions, response patterns of growth and reproduction to habitats with different environmental conditions were consistent. Large elasticity of traits suggests that Empetrum may have the potential to cope with changing snow conditions expected in the course of climate change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bienau, Miriam Hattermann, D. Kröncke, M. Kretz, L. Otte, A. Eiserhardt, W.L. Milbau, A. Graae, B.J. Durka, Walter Eckstein, R.L. |
author_facet |
Bienau, Miriam Hattermann, D. Kröncke, M. Kretz, L. Otte, A. Eiserhardt, W.L. Milbau, A. Graae, B.J. Durka, Walter Eckstein, R.L. |
author_sort |
Bienau, Miriam |
title |
Snow cover consistently affects growth and reproduction of Empetrum hermaphroditum across latitudinal and local climatic gradients |
title_short |
Snow cover consistently affects growth and reproduction of Empetrum hermaphroditum across latitudinal and local climatic gradients |
title_full |
Snow cover consistently affects growth and reproduction of Empetrum hermaphroditum across latitudinal and local climatic gradients |
title_fullStr |
Snow cover consistently affects growth and reproduction of Empetrum hermaphroditum across latitudinal and local climatic gradients |
title_full_unstemmed |
Snow cover consistently affects growth and reproduction of Empetrum hermaphroditum across latitudinal and local climatic gradients |
title_sort |
snow cover consistently affects growth and reproduction of empetrum hermaphroditum across latitudinal and local climatic gradients |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=15396 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-014-0137-8 |
geographic |
Arctic Norway |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Norway |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Global warming Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Global warming Northern Sweden |
op_source |
ISSN: 1664-2201 |
op_relation |
https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=15396 https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00035-014-0137-8 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-014-0137-8 |
container_title |
Alpine Botany |
container_volume |
124 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
115 |
op_container_end_page |
129 |
_version_ |
1784889440011812864 |