Biological consequences of earlier snowmelt from desert dust deposition in alpine landscapes
Dust deposition to mountain snow cover, which has increased since the late 19th century, accelerates the rate of snowmelt by increasing the solar radiation absorbed by the snowpack. Snowmelt occurs earlier, but is decoupled from seasonal warming. Climate warming advances the timing of snowmelt and e...
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ftutahsudc:oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:crc_research-1399 2023-05-15T18:40:34+02:00 Biological consequences of earlier snowmelt from desert dust deposition in alpine landscapes Steltzer, Heidi Landry, Chris Painter, Thomas H. Anderson, Justin Ayres, Edward The National Academy of Sciences 2009-01-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/crc_research/400 unknown Hosted by Utah State University Libraries https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/crc_research/400 Canyonlands Research Bibliography climate warming phenology plant life history syncronization threshold text 2009 ftutahsudc 2022-03-07T21:17:28Z Dust deposition to mountain snow cover, which has increased since the late 19th century, accelerates the rate of snowmelt by increasing the solar radiation absorbed by the snowpack. Snowmelt occurs earlier, but is decoupled from seasonal warming. Climate warming advances the timing of snowmelt and early season phenological events (e.g., the onset of greening and flowering); however, earlier snowmelt without warmer temperatures may have a different effect on phenology. Here, we report the results of a set of snowmelt manipulations in which radiation-absorbing fabric and the addition and removal of dust from the surface of the snowpack advanced or delayed snowmelt in the alpine tundra. These changes in the timing of snowmelt were superimposed on a system where the timing of snowmelt varies with topography and has been affected by increased dust loading. At the community level, phenology exhibited a threshold response to the timing of snowmelt. Greening and flowering were delayed before seasonal warming, after which there was a linear relationship between the date of snowmelt and the timing of phenological events. Consequently, the effects of earlier snowmelt on phenology differed in relation to topography, which resulted in increasing synchronicity in phenology across the alpine landscape with increasingly earlier snowmelt. The consequences of earlier snowmelt from increased dust deposition differ from climate warming and include delayed phenology, leading to synchronized growth and flowering across the landscape and the opportunity for altered species interactions, landscape-scale gene flow via pollination, and nutrient cycling. Text Tundra Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
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Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
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climate warming phenology plant life history syncronization threshold |
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climate warming phenology plant life history syncronization threshold Steltzer, Heidi Landry, Chris Painter, Thomas H. Anderson, Justin Ayres, Edward Biological consequences of earlier snowmelt from desert dust deposition in alpine landscapes |
topic_facet |
climate warming phenology plant life history syncronization threshold |
description |
Dust deposition to mountain snow cover, which has increased since the late 19th century, accelerates the rate of snowmelt by increasing the solar radiation absorbed by the snowpack. Snowmelt occurs earlier, but is decoupled from seasonal warming. Climate warming advances the timing of snowmelt and early season phenological events (e.g., the onset of greening and flowering); however, earlier snowmelt without warmer temperatures may have a different effect on phenology. Here, we report the results of a set of snowmelt manipulations in which radiation-absorbing fabric and the addition and removal of dust from the surface of the snowpack advanced or delayed snowmelt in the alpine tundra. These changes in the timing of snowmelt were superimposed on a system where the timing of snowmelt varies with topography and has been affected by increased dust loading. At the community level, phenology exhibited a threshold response to the timing of snowmelt. Greening and flowering were delayed before seasonal warming, after which there was a linear relationship between the date of snowmelt and the timing of phenological events. Consequently, the effects of earlier snowmelt on phenology differed in relation to topography, which resulted in increasing synchronicity in phenology across the alpine landscape with increasingly earlier snowmelt. The consequences of earlier snowmelt from increased dust deposition differ from climate warming and include delayed phenology, leading to synchronized growth and flowering across the landscape and the opportunity for altered species interactions, landscape-scale gene flow via pollination, and nutrient cycling. |
author2 |
The National Academy of Sciences |
format |
Text |
author |
Steltzer, Heidi Landry, Chris Painter, Thomas H. Anderson, Justin Ayres, Edward |
author_facet |
Steltzer, Heidi Landry, Chris Painter, Thomas H. Anderson, Justin Ayres, Edward |
author_sort |
Steltzer, Heidi |
title |
Biological consequences of earlier snowmelt from desert dust deposition in alpine landscapes |
title_short |
Biological consequences of earlier snowmelt from desert dust deposition in alpine landscapes |
title_full |
Biological consequences of earlier snowmelt from desert dust deposition in alpine landscapes |
title_fullStr |
Biological consequences of earlier snowmelt from desert dust deposition in alpine landscapes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Biological consequences of earlier snowmelt from desert dust deposition in alpine landscapes |
title_sort |
biological consequences of earlier snowmelt from desert dust deposition in alpine landscapes |
publisher |
Hosted by Utah State University Libraries |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/crc_research/400 |
genre |
Tundra |
genre_facet |
Tundra |
op_source |
Canyonlands Research Bibliography |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/crc_research/400 |
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1766229948942516224 |