1. Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome.
- Author
-
Bjorkman AD, Myers-Smith IH, Elmendorf SC, Normand S, Rüger N, Beck PSA, Blach-Overgaard A, Blok D, Cornelissen JHC, Forbes BC, Georges D, Goetz SJ, Guay KC, Henry GHR, HilleRisLambers J, Hollister RD, Karger DN, Kattge J, Manning P, Prevéy JS, Rixen C, Schaepman-Strub G, Thomas HJD, Vellend M, Wilmking M, Wipf S, Carbognani M, Hermanutz L, Lévesque E, Molau U, Petraglia A, Soudzilovskaia NA, Spasojevic MJ, Tomaselli M, Vowles T, Alatalo JM, Alexander HD, Anadon-Rosell A, Angers-Blondin S, Beest MT, Berner L, Björk RG, Buchwal A, Buras A, Christie K, Cooper EJ, Dullinger S, Elberling B, Eskelinen A, Frei ER, Grau O, Grogan P, Hallinger M, Harper KA, Heijmans MMPD, Hudson J, Hülber K, Iturrate-Garcia M, Iversen CM, Jaroszynska F, Johnstone JF, Jørgensen RH, Kaarlejärvi E, Klady R, Kuleza S, Kulonen A, Lamarque LJ, Lantz T, Little CJ, Speed JDM, Michelsen A, Milbau A, Nabe-Nielsen J, Nielsen SS, Ninot JM, Oberbauer SF, Olofsson J, Onipchenko VG, Rumpf SB, Semenchuk P, Shetti R, Collier LS, Street LE, Suding KN, Tape KD, Trant A, Treier UA, Tremblay JP, Tremblay M, Venn S, Weijers S, Zamin T, Boulanger-Lapointe N, Gould WA, Hik DS, Hofgaard A, Jónsdóttir IS, Jorgenson J, Klein J, Magnusson B, Tweedie C, Wookey PA, Bahn M, Blonder B, van Bodegom PM, Bond-Lamberty B, Campetella G, Cerabolini BEL, Chapin FS 3rd, Cornwell WK, Craine J, Dainese M, de Vries FT, Díaz S, Enquist BJ, Green W, Milla R, Niinemets Ü, Onoda Y, Ordoñez JC, Ozinga WA, Penuelas J, Poorter H, Poschlod P, Reich PB, Sandel B, Schamp B, Sheremetev S, and Weiher E
- Subjects
- Biometry, Geographic Mapping, Humidity, Phenotype, Soil chemistry, Spatio-Temporal Analysis, Temperature, Water analysis, Global Warming, Plant Physiological Phenomena, Plants anatomy & histology, Tundra
- Abstract
The tundra is warming more rapidly than any other biome on Earth, and the potential ramifications are far-reaching because of global feedback effects between vegetation and climate. A better understanding of how environmental factors shape plant structure and function is crucial for predicting the consequences of environmental change for ecosystem functioning. Here we explore the biome-wide relationships between temperature, moisture and seven key plant functional traits both across space and over three decades of warming at 117 tundra locations. Spatial temperature-trait relationships were generally strong but soil moisture had a marked influence on the strength and direction of these relationships, highlighting the potentially important influence of changes in water availability on future trait shifts in tundra plant communities. Community height increased with warming across all sites over the past three decades, but other traits lagged far behind predicted rates of change. Our findings highlight the challenge of using space-for-time substitution to predict the functional consequences of future warming and suggest that functions that are tied closely to plant height will experience the most rapid change. They also reveal the strength with which environmental factors shape biotic communities at the coldest extremes of the planet and will help to improve projections of functional changes in tundra ecosystems with climate warming.
- Published
- 2018
- Full Text
- View/download PDF