Northeastern High-Elevation Areas: Ecological Values and Conservation Priorities

Publicover, David A.; Kimball, Kenneth D.; Poppenwimer, Catherine J.

doi:10.1656/045.028.s1108

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Alpine plant species of low stature do not compete well for light under established forest canopy, thus, habitat colonized by encroaching trees will likely be unsuitable for these species (Körner, 2012). Coupled with the potential loss of persistent winter snowpack under future warming, which serves to insulate alpine plants from severe cold and ice‐induced stress, any upslope shifts in treeline positions may threaten vulnerable alpine species further (Burakowski et al, 2022; Inouye, 2020; Kimball et al, 2021; Publicover et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Importantly, there are several known land‐use and anthropogenic impacts that may play a minor role in the treeline dynamics of our study ranges (Publicover et al, 2021). The long‐term formal protection of Katahdin has kept anthropogenic influence on the landscape there to a minimum (Publicover et al, 2021). However, the Presidential Range has seen the construction of a toll road and hiking trails to the summit of Mt.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the Presidential Range has seen the construction of a toll road and hiking trails to the summit of Mt. Washington as well as hiker huts scattered above the alpine‐treeline ecotone, each of which could shape treeline positions at local scales, but not across the full range, vis‐à‐vis tree removal and damage (Kimball et al, 2021; Publicover et al, 2021). Historical logging and mammal grazing (both commercial and natural) in high‐elevation krummholz areas within the region was quite minimal (Capers et al, 2013; Publicover et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Washington as well as hiker huts scattered above the alpine‐treeline ecotone, each of which could shape treeline positions at local scales, but not across the full range, vis‐à‐vis tree removal and damage (Kimball et al, 2021; Publicover et al, 2021). Historical logging and mammal grazing (both commercial and natural) in high‐elevation krummholz areas within the region was quite minimal (Capers et al, 2013; Publicover et al, 2021). More relevant to our Ranges is a legacy of acid and nutrient (nitrogen and sulfur) deposition from industrial processes that form distinct east (lower) to west (higher) latitudinal, and high (higher) to low (lower) elevation, gradients, both of which could either inhibit tree growth via soil acidification or improve tree growth via increased nitrogen (N) uptake (Driscoll et al, 2001; Lawrence et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Forests on the move: Tracking climate‐related treeline changes in mountains of the northeastern United States

Tourville,

Publicover,

Dovciak

2023

Journal of Biogeography

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AimAlpine treeline ecotones are influenced by environmental drivers and are anticipated to shift their locations in response to changing climate. Our goal was to determine the extent of recent climate‐induced treeline advance in the northeastern United States, and we hypothesized that treelines have advanced upslope in complex ways depending on treeline structure and environmental conditions.LocationWhite Mountain National Forest (New Hampshire) and Baxter State Park (Maine), USA.TaxonHigh‐elevation tree species—Abies balsamea, Picea mariana and Betula cordata.MethodsWe compared current and historical high‐resolution aerial imagery to quantify the advance of treelines over the last four decades, and link treeline changes to treeline form (demography) and environmental drivers. Spatial analyses of the aerial images were coupled with ground surveys of forest vegetation and topographical features to ground‐truth treeline classification and provide information on treeline demography and additional potential drivers of treeline locations. We used multiple linear regression models to examine the importance of both topographic and climatic variables on treeline advance.ResultsRegional treelines have significantly shifted upslope over the past several decades (on average by 3 m/decade). Gradual diffuse treelines (characterized by declining tree density) showed significantly greater upslope shifts (5 m/decade) compared to other treeline forms, suggesting that both climate warming and treeline demography are important correlates of treeline shifts. Topographical features (slope, aspect) as well as climate (accumulated growing degree days, AGDD) explained significant variation in the magnitude of treeline advance (R2 = 0.32).Main ConclusionsThe observed advance of treelines is consistent with the hypothesis that climate warming induces upslope treeline shifts. Overall, our findings suggest that gradual diffuse treelines at high elevations may be indicative of climate warming more than other alpine treeline ecotones and thus they can inform us about past and ongoing climatic changes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Forests on the move: Tracking climate‐related treeline changes in mountains of the northeastern United States

Tourville,

Publicover,

Dovciak

2023

Journal of Biogeography

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Early Holocene plant macrofossils indicate cool refugia for subalpine plant taxa in Acadia National Park, Maine

Carroll

Gill²,

MacKenzie³

2023

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Identifying refugia— specifically places where species can persist during periods of regionally unsuitable climate— is increasingly important for conservation practitioners and land managers charged with protecting biodiversity in a rapidly warming world. Currently, many researchers assist in this process by building models to predict areas of refugia using climate data projected into the future under different climate scenarios; however, the coarse spatial scale of future climate data can be orders of magnitude larger than the scale of refugia on the landscape. Conservation paleobiology is an emerging field that can contribute to the identification of climate refugia by looking at the macrofossil records contained in sediments to better understand the response of species to past climate change within a small area, and allows us to ground-truth hypotheses about specific areas functioning as climate refugia. Here, we present a conservation paleobiology case study to update vulnerability assessments for subalpine plant species in Acadia National Park and locate potential future refugia on the landscape. We analyzed plant macrofossils in a sediment core from Sargent Mountain Pond in Acadia National Park (Maine, United States) at a fine spatiotemporal resolution to test the hypothesis that the area served as a past climate refugium for the subalpine species it currently hosts. We found that, when compared to a pollen record from a forest hollow core collected on Mount Desert Island, the macrofossils reflect a more stable presence of subalpine taxa throughout the Holocene Climatic Optimum (8,000–5,000 BP) than was observed at lower elevations. Our results indicate the importance of a complementary approach that combines plant macrofossils and pollen in addition to modeling to identify refugia and better understand the vulnerability of species and communities to climate change.

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Northeastern High-Elevation Areas: Ecological Values and Conservation Priorities

Cited by 2 publications

References 34 publications

Forests on the move: Tracking climate‐related treeline changes in mountains of the northeastern United States

Forests on the move: Tracking climate‐related treeline changes in mountains of the northeastern United States

Early Holocene plant macrofossils indicate cool refugia for subalpine plant taxa in Acadia National Park, Maine

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