Experimental warming causes rapid loss of plant diversity in New England salt marshes

Abstract

Anthropogenic climate change is predicted to cause widespread biodiversity loss due to shifts in speciesÕ distributions, but these predictions rarely incorporate ecological associations such as zonation. Here, we predict the decline of a diverse assemblage of mid-latitude salt marsh plants, based on an ecosystem warming experiment. In New England salt marshes, a guild of halophytic forbs occupies stressful, waterlogged pannes. At three sites, experimental warming of < 4°C led to diversity declines in pannes and rapid takeover by a competitive dominant, Spartina patens. In Rhode Island, near their southern range limit, pannes were more sensitive to warming than farther north, and panne area also declined in control plots over the three-season experiment. These results suggest that warming will rapidly reduce plant diversity in New England salt marshes by eliminating a high diversity zone. Biodiversity in zoned ecosystems may be more affected by climate-driven shifts in zonation than by individual speciesÕ distribution shifts.

Effects of increased temperature on plant communities depend on landscape location and precipitation

“…Generally, experimental warming often leads to reductions in diversity (Klein, Harte, & Zhao, 2004; Gedan & Bertness, 2009; Prieto, Penuelas, Lloret, Llorens, & Estiarte, 2009; but see Zavaleta et al., 2003; Harmens et al., 2004; Yang, Wu et al., 2011) and changes in community structure (Cowles et al., 2016). Experimentally increased precipitation, likewise, can have either a positive or negative impact on plant diversity (Báez, Collins, Pockman, Johnson, & Small, 2012; Xu et al., 2012).…”

Relationship between climate and geographical variation of local woody species richness within the Mediterranean-type region of Chile

“…In particular, climate has been considered as one of the most important drivers of geographical variability in woody species richness [5][6][7][8], and in recent times, studies relating climate with biodiversity have received a major attention in order to predict probable effects of climate warming (e.g. [9]). Several significant relationships between plant species richness and latitude (e.g.…”

Microbially mediated nitrogen retention and loss in a salt marsh soil

“…Global change factors such as sea level rise, warming, and eutrophication can lead to the loss of plant diversity and even the development of monocultures in salt marshes (Bertness et al 2002, Silliman and Bertness 2004, Gedan and Bertness 2009, Gedan et al 2011, Fox et al 2012. Sea level rise may increase the dominance of forbs in some coastal ecosystems (Warren and Niering 1993) whereas N inputs may allow graminoids to outcompete forbs (Bowman et al 1993, De Schrijver et al 2011.…”