Globally accelerating trends in societal development and human environmental impacts since the mid-twentieth century are known as the Great Acceleration and have been discussed as a key indicator of the onset of the Anthropocene epoch . While reports on ecological responses (for example, changes in species range or local extinctions) to the Great Acceleration are multiplying , it is unknown whether such biotic responses are undergoing a similar acceleration over time. This knowledge gap stems from the limited availability of time series data on biodiversity changes across large temporal and geographical extents. Here we use a dataset of repeated plant surveys from 302 mountain summits across Europe, spanning 145 years of observation, to assess the temporal trajectory of mountain biodiversity changes as a globally coherent imprint of the Anthropocene. We find a continent-wide acceleration in the rate of increase in plant species richness, with five times as much species enrichment between 2007 and 2016 as fifty years ago, between 1957 and 1966. This acceleration is strikingly synchronized with accelerated global warming and is not linked to alternative global change drivers. The accelerating increases in species richness on mountain summits across this broad spatial extent demonstrate that acceleration in climate-induced biotic change is occurring even in remote places on Earth, with potentially far-ranging consequences not only for biodiversity, but also for ecosystem functioning and services.

Summary1. The effects of global climate change are predicted to be strongest in the Arctic. This, as well as the suitability of tundra as a simple model ecosystem, has led to many field experiments investigating consequences of simulated environmental change. 2. On the basis of 36 experiments reviewed here, minor light attenuation by clouds, small changes in precipitation, and increases in UV-B radiation and atmospheric CO 2 concentrations will not affect arctic plants in the short term. However, temperature elevation, increases in nutrient availability and major decreases in light availability will cause an immediate plant-growth response and alter nutrient cycling, possibly creating positive feedbacks on plant biomass. The driver of future change in arctic vegetation is likely to be increased nutrient availability, arising for example from temperatureinduced increases in mineralization. 3. Arctic plant species differ widely in their response to environmental manipulations. Classification into plant functional types proved largely unsatisfactory for generalization of responses and predictions of effects. 4. Nevertheless, a few generalizations and consistent differences between PFTs were detected. Responses to fertilization were the strongest, particularly in grasses. Shrubs and grasses were most responsive to elevated temperature. 5. Future studies should focus on interactive effects of environmental factors, investigate long-term responses to manipulations, and incorporate interactions with other trophic levels. With respect to plant functional types, a new approach is advocated, which groups species according to their responses to environmental manipulations.

Mosses dominate many northern ecosystems and their presence is integral to soil thermal and hydrological regimes which, in turn, dictate important ecological processes. Drivers, such as climate change and increasing herbivore pressure, affect the moss layer thus, assessment of the functional role of mosses in determining soil characteristics is essential. Field manipulations conducted in high arctic Spitsbergen (78 degrees N), creating shallow (3 cm), intermediate (6 cm) and deep (12 cm) moss layers over the soil surface, had an immediate impact on soil temperature in terms of both average temperatures and amplitude of fluctuations. In soil under deep moss, temperature was substantially lower and organic layer thaw occurred 4 weeks later than in other treatment plots; the growing season for vascular plants was thereby reduced by 40%. Soil moisture was also reduced under deep moss, reflecting the influence of local heterogeneity in moss depth, over and above the landscape-scale topographic control of soil moisture. Data from field and laboratory experiments show that moss-mediated effects on the soil environment influenced microbial biomass and activity, resulting in warmer and wetter soil under thinner moss layers containing more plant-available nitrogen. In arctic ecosystems, which are limited by soil temperature, growing season length and nutrient availability, spatial and temporal variation in the depth of the moss layer has significant repercussions for ecosystem function. Evidence from our mesic tundra site shows that any disturbance causing reduction in the depth of the moss layer will alleviate temperature and moisture constraints and therefore profoundly influence a wide range of ecosystem processes, including nutrient cycling and energy transfer.

Summary • This study investigates effects of nitrogen and phosphorus on high Arctic heath vegetation, particularly bryophytes. • Heath communities received factorial combinations of nitrogen (0, 10 and 50 kg ha−1 yr−1) and phosphorus (0 and 5 kg ha−1 yr−1) in five applications per growing season, for 8 yr. • Nitrogen decreased lichen cover but did not affect cover of any other functional type. However, just 10 kg ha−1 yr−1 increased the proportion of physiologically active bryophte shoots, and decreased their nitrate assimilation capacity. Phosphorus had greater effects, and the combination of both nutrients altered species composition. Individual bryophyte species displayed contrasting responses to fertilization, suggesting that they should not be grouped as a single functional type. • The ‘critical load’ of nitrogen for Arctic heath lies below 10 kg ha−1 yr−1. Nitrogen and phosphorus are colimiting in this sytem, so the critical load of nitrogen will be lower where phosphorus availability is greater. Responses of vegetation to any increase in net mineralisation due to soil warming will depend on the ratio in which nitrogen and phosphorus availabilities increase. The effects of nutrient enhancement are very persistent.

Summary• The effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on the moss Racomitrium lanuginosum within montane heath in Scotland were investigated over 5 yr.• Permanent field plots were sprayed with KNO 3 or NH 4 Cl solutions, at doses equivalent to 10 and 40 kg N ha − 1 yr − 1 , in 3 -6 applications each summer.• Racomitrium growth and cover were severely reduced by N addition, whilst the proportion of dead shoots greatly increased. N dose decreased inducibility of shoot nitrate reductase activity (NRA), suggesting that N saturation of Racomitrium occurred, and caused an increase in potassium leakage. At high dosage, effects of NH 4 + were more detrimental than NO 3 -.• Physiological responses to N indicate that the habitat's critical load (CL) is exceeded by addition of 10 kg N ha − 1 yr − 1 . The differential toxicity of the two forms of N suggests that predominant ion type in deposition should be taken into consideration when CLs are set. In contrast to tissue N, NRA correlated well with shoot growth, and may thus be a useful biological indicator of moss condition.

High-latitude ecosystems store large amounts of carbon (C); however, the C storage of these ecosystems is under threat from both climate warming and increased levels of herbivory. In this study we examined the combined role of herbivores and climate warming as drivers of CO2 fluxes in two typical high-latitude habitats (mesic heath and wet meadow). We hypothesized that both herbivory and climate warming would reduce the C sink strength of Arctic tundra through their combined effects on plant biomass and gross ecosystem photosynthesis and on decomposition rates and the abiotic environment. To test this hypothesis we employed experimental warming (via International Tundra Experiment [ITEX] chambers) and grazing (via captive Barnacle Geese) in a three-year factorial field experiment. Ecosystem CO2 fluxes (net ecosystem exchange of CO2, ecosystem respiration, and gross ecosystem photosynthesis) were measured in all treatments at varying intensity over the three growing seasons to capture the impact of the treatments on a range of temporal scales (diurnal, seasonal, and interannual). Grazing and warming treatments had markedly different effects on CO2 fluxes in the two tundra habitats. Grazing caused a strong reduction in CO2 assimilation in the wet meadow, while warming reduced CO2 efflux from the mesic heath. Treatment effects on net ecosystem exchange largely derived from the modification of gross ecosystem photosynthesis rather than ecosystem respiration. In this study we have demonstrated that on the habitat scale, grazing by geese is a strong driver of net ecosystem exchange of CO2, with the potential to reduce the CO2 sink strength of Arctic ecosystems. Our results highlight that the large reduction in plant biomass due to goose grazing in the Arctic noted in several studies can alter the C balance of wet tundra ecosystems. We conclude that herbivory will modulate direct climate warming responses of Arctic tundra with implications for the ecosystem C balance; however, the magnitude and direction of the response will be habitat-specific.

Questions Is there evidence for biotic homogenization of upland vegetation? Do the magnitude and nature of floristic and compositional change vary between vegetation types? What can be inferred about the drivers responsible for the observed changes? Location Upland heath, mire and grassland communities of the northwest Highlands of Scotland, UK. Methods We re‐survey plots first described in a phytosociological study of 1956–1958 to assess the changes in plant species composition over the last 50 yr in five major upland vegetation types. Using a combination of multivariate analysis, dissimilarity measures, diversity metrics and published data on species attributes; we quantify, characterize and link potential drivers of environmental change with the observed changes in species composition. Results Grassland and heath vegetation declined in species richness and variation in community composition, while mires showed little change. Previously distinct vegetation types became more similar in composition, characterized by the increased dominance of generalist upland graminoids and reduced dwarf‐shrub, forb and lichen cover, although novel assemblages were not apparent. Species with an oceanic distribution increased at the expense of those with an arctic‐montane distribution. Temperature, precipitation and acidity were found to be potentially important in explaining changes in species composition: species that had undergone the greatest increases had a preference for warmer, drier and more acidic conditions. Conclusions The vegetation of the northwest Scottish Highlands has undergone marked biotic homogenization over the last 50 yr, manifested through a loss of various aspects of diversity at the local, community and landscape scales. The magnitude of change varies between vegetation types, although the nature of change shows many similar characteristics. Analyses of species attributes suggest these changes are driven by climate warming and acidification, although over‐grazing may also be important. This study highlights the importance of the link between the loss of plant diversity and homogenization at multiple scales, and demonstrates that boreal heath communities are particularly at risk from these processes.

SUMMARYAtmospheric nitrate deposition varies across Northern Britain, and has increased approximately fourfold since the last century in the Manchester Region. Ombrotrophic mires depend on an atmospheric supply of elements, and some components of nitrogen deposition at two mire sites in northern Britain were investigated. The sites differed in proximity to major pollution sources. Growth of Sphagnum cuspidatum HofTm. in bog pools was less in the polluted site and this was associated with a marked increase in tissue nitrogen concentration. Field experiments in which S. cuspidatum plants from unpolluted sites were exposed solely to atmospheric deposition in artificial bog pools showed that much of this large increase in nitrogen concentration could have resulted from atmospheric deposition alone. Concentrations of nitrate and ammonium within the range observed in bulk deposition at the polluted site reduced the growth of 5. cuspidatum in a laboratory experiment. The results are discussed in relation to a general increase in atmospheric nitrogen deposition, and its potential importance to plant growth.