Changes in alpine plant communities under climate change: Dynamics of snow‐meadow vegetation in northern Japan over the last 40 years

Abstract

Question: Alpine plant communities are often distributed as a mosaic reflecting micro-scale heterogeneity of environmental conditions, indicating the importance of diverse habitats in maintaining species diversity in alpine ecosystems. Because snowmeadow vegetation is particularly sensitive to climate change, species composition and community structure may have changed over the last few decades in response to global warming. The aim of the present study is to quantify changes in species diversity and snow-meadow community composition over the last 40 years. Location: Taisetsu Mountains, Hokkaido, Japan. Methods: The presence and ground cover of plant species were surveyed in two snow-meadow sites in 1971-1972 (44 and 113 plots) and 2012 (85 and 115 plots). In addition, soil moisture and snowmelt time were measured in every plot in 2012. Changes in species richness, functional types and species composition between the survey periods were analysed. Results: Community structure of snow-meadow vegetation has changed significantly. Although the total number of species at each site was the same between the survey periods, Shannon's diversity index and species richness per plot have increased. Moreover, similarity in species composition among community types has been enhanced, indicating the mosaic structure of alpine vegetation has become obscure. The relative dominance of forbs (particularly tall herbaceous species) decreased, while that of shrubs increased. The distribution of community types reflected the snowmelt and soil moisture conditions. Conclusions: Significant changes have occurred in vegetation structure in the alpine snow-meadows, possibly due to accelerated snow melt and drier soil conditions linked to global warming. To predict the dynamics of alpine vegetation, we need to clarify how micro-scale heterogeneity of environmental conditions is modified by global change. K E Y W O R D S alpine, climate change, micro-topographic heterogeneity, plant community, snow-meadow, soil moisture, species richness, vegetation change Present Address

Suitability of Habitats in Nepal for Dactylorhiza hatagirea Now and under Predicted Future Changes in Climate

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Climate change shifts population structure and demographics of an alpine herb,Anemone narcissiflora ssp. sachalinensis(Ranunculaceae), along a snowmelt gradient

“…This indicates that modification of the snowmelt pattern could affect the vegetation structure of alpine ecosystems. Our comparisons of snow‐meadow vegetation in the Taisetsu Mountains revealed that the mosaic structure of plant communities has been obscured over the last 40 years because of plant species invasions in later snowmelt locations and the decline of some herbaceous species in the snow‐meadow communities, including A. narcissiflora (Amagai et al, 2018). These results highlight the vulnerability of alpine plant communities to climate change, especially in late snowmelt locations (Björk & Molau, 2007; Hülber et al, 2011; Matteodo, Ammann, Verrecchia, & Vottoz, 2016).…”

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Alpine plant community diversity in species–area relations at fine scale

“…Therefore, alpine plant community composition and diversity vary across and within regions and mountain ranges, and how the diversity of this habitat varies with spatial scale could inform fundamental theory in biogeography. In addition, understanding the underlying determinants of the diversity of alpine vegetation will help anticipate the effects of climate change (Amagai, Kudo, and Sato 2018;Malanson et al 2019). Although increases in diversity in Europe have been reported (e.g., Pauli et al 2012), species are mostly shifting their distributions upward, with an acceleration of such range shifts (e.g., Steinbauer et al 2018).…”