Extreme climatic events shape arid and semiarid ecosystems

Holmgren, Milena; Stapp, Paul; Dickman, Chris R.; Gracia, Carlos; Graham, Sonia; Gutiérrez, Julio R.; Hice, Christine L.; Jaksic, Fabián M.; Kelt, Douglas A.; Letnic, Mike; Lima, Maurício; López, Bernat Claramunt; Meserve, Peter L.; Milstead, W. Bryan; Polis, Gary A.; Previtali, M. Andrea; Richter, Michael; Sabaté, Santiago; Squeo, Francisco A.

doi:10.1890/1540-9295(2006)004[0087:ecesaa]2.0.co;2

Cited by 410 publications

(348 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…However, rapid pulses of tree recruitment are often observed in warm episodes (28) consistent with our results, suggesting that increased temperature could result in distinct shifts in tree cover from tundra to forest or savanna-like woodland. Overall the observations in the boreal region are consistent with the finding that extreme climate events such as droughts or very rainy years may trigger shifts between alternative vegetation states because they can trigger pulses of tree recruitment or mortality that further affect disturbance regime and the positive feedbacks maintaining a particular vegetation state (40,41). The massive character of the potential transitions we envision for the boreal region have profound consequences for plant, animal, and the indigenous human populations that have lived for millennia in boreal ecosystems.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Thresholds for boreal biome transitions

Scheffer¹,

Hirota

Holmgren

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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310

295

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Although the boreal region is warming twice as fast as the global average, the way in which the vast boreal forests and tundras may respond is poorly understood. Using satellite data, we reveal marked alternative modes in the frequency distributions of boreal tree cover. At the northern end and at the dry continental southern extremes, treeless tundra and steppe, respectively, are the only possible states. However, over a broad intermediate temperature range, these treeless states coexist with boreal forest (∼75% tree cover) and with two more open woodland states (∼20% and ∼45% tree cover). Intermediate tree covers (e.g., ∼10%, ∼30%, and ∼60% tree cover) between these distinct states are relatively rare, suggesting that they may represent unstable states where the system dwells only transiently. Mechanisms for such instabilities remain to be unraveled, but our results have important implications for the anticipated response of these ecosystems to climatic change. The data reveal that boreal forest shows no gradual decline in tree cover toward its limits. Instead, our analysis suggests that it becomes less resilient in the sense that it may more easily shift into a sparse woodland or treeless state. Similarly, the relative scarcity of the intermediate ∼10% tree cover suggests that tundra may shift relatively abruptly to a more abundant tree cover. If our inferences are correct, climate change may invoke massive nonlinear shifts in boreal biomes.remote sensing | tipping point | resilience | permafrost | wildfire T he boreal forest is one of the most extensive biomes on Earth.Together with tundra, it is warming more rapidly than other biomes-approximately twice as fast as the global average (1). Warming has already caused extensive thawing of permafrost, accompanied with changes in hydrology, which are likely driving changes in vegetation, wildfires, and insect outbreaks (2, 3). Despite these major changes, the potential response of boreal systems to further climate change is poorly understood. One of the big questions is whether boreal biomes will change gradually, as assumed by most dynamic vegetation models (4, 5), or might have tipping points where changing conditions can invoke critical transitions.Many factors, including fire, insects, climate, permafrost, and human land use, play a role in vegetation dynamics in the boreal region (2, 3, 6, 7). However, although detailed studies have revealed separate mechanisms, an understanding of large-scale stability properties and dynamics cannot easily be constructed from these separate elements. To address the question of potential critical transitions, we therefore complement the existing studies by analyzing the distribution of tree cover densities on continental scales. Tree cover is admittedly a rather crude descriptor of the vegetation state. However, it is one of the most defining characteristics not only for the structure of the landscape, but also for functional characteristics such as carbon storage and albedo.Our central goal is to determine whether the frequ...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Thresholds for boreal biome transitions

Scheffer¹,

Hirota

Holmgren

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

310

295

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“…heatwaves, droughts) [5,6]. These events can be even the main structuring influences of ecological communities [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of temperature and dispersal in moss-microarthropod community assembly after a catastrophic event

Perdomo

Sunnucks

2012

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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There is a clear crisis in the maintenance of biodiversity. It has been generated by a multitude of factors, notably habitat loss, now compounded by the effects of climate change. Predicted changes in climate include increased severity and frequency of extreme climatic events. To manage landscapes, an understanding of the processes that allow recovery from these extreme events is required. Understanding these landscape-scale processes of community assembly and disassembly is hindered by the large scales at which they operate. Model systems provide a means of studying landscape scale processes at tractable scales. Here, we assess the combined effects of temperature and habitat-patch isolation on assembly of naturally diverse moss microarthropod communities after a high-temperature event. We show that community assembly depends on temperature and on degree of habitat isolation. Heated communities were heavily dominated in abundance by two species, one of them relatively large. The resulting size-structure is unlike that seen in the field. Community composition in habitat fragments appears also to have been influenced by the source pool of recolonizing fauna. Our results highlight the value of dispersal in disturbed landscapes and the potential for habitat connectivity to buffer communities from the effects of climate change.

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“…Within the northern regions (I, II and XV) four different ecological zones are apparent: coastal, Pampa, Precordillera and Altiplano. Some of the species present in these ecosystems have been identified as vulnerable (Holmgren et al, 2006). In the Atacama Desert of northern Chile there has been an alarming increase in the identification of endangered vegetation in recent years.…”

Section: Conservation Of the Atacama Desertmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an integration of plant ecophysiological traits for the conservation of endangered species in ecosystems under water stress

Carevic

2016

Idesia

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Extreme climatic events shape arid and semiarid ecosystems

Cited by 410 publications

References 37 publications

Thresholds for boreal biome transitions

Thresholds for boreal biome transitions

The role of temperature and dispersal in moss-microarthropod community assembly after a catastrophic event

Towards an integration of plant ecophysiological traits for the conservation of endangered species in ecosystems under water stress

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