Plant distribution in relation to the length of the growing season in a snow-bed in the Taisetsu Mountains, northern Japan

Kudo, Gaku; Itō, Kōji

doi:10.1007/bf00045554

Cited by 68 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The highest diversity appeared in the plots with intermediate depth of snow (class III and class IV). Kudo (1991Kudo ( 1992 and Kudo et al (1992) also found that plant species richness decreased in micro-sites where plants emerged very late from snow cover. This decline in the plots covered by deep snow might be due to the fact that only a subset of species could tolerate the conditions within a late snow bed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Effect of snow-cover duration on plant species diversity of alpine meadows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Chen

et al. 2008

J. Mt. Sci.

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Abstract:Although snow cover plays an important role in structuring plant diversity in the alpine zone, there are few studies on the relationship between snow cover and species diversity of alpine meadows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. To assess the effect of snow cover on plant species diversity of alpine meadows, we used ten parallel transects of 60 m × 1 m for this study and described the changes in species diversity and composition associated with snow depth. With the division of snow depth into six classes, the highest species richness (S) and species diversity (H′) occurred with an intermediate snow depth, i.e., class III and class IV, showing a unimodal curve with the increase in snow depth. The relationship between snow depth and plant diversity (both richness and Shannon index) could be depicted by quadratic equations. There was no evident relationship between diversity (both S and H′) and soil water content, which implied that other more important factors influenced species diversity. The patterns of diversity found in our study were largely attributed to freeze-thaw alteration, length of growing season and disturbances of livestock grazing. Furthermore, snow depth affected species composition, as evaluated by the Sørensen's index of similarity. In addition, almost all species limited to one snow depth class were found only in class III and class IV, indicating that intermediate snow depth was suitable for the survival and growth of many alpine species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Effect of snow-cover duration on plant species diversity of alpine meadows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Chen

et al. 2008

J. Mt. Sci.

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“…A 1-month shift in phenology imposes a strong barrier to pollen flow between microhabitats, as S. herbacea flowers are only receptive to pollen for approximately 2 weeks (Beerling, 1998). Strong flowering time differentiation within short distances is not uncommon and has been reported in snowmelt gradients in Scandinavia for S. herbacea (Wijk, 1986b) and in other alpine species (Kudo, 1992;Kudo and Ito, 1992;Jones et al, 1997;Kudo et al, 1999;Shimono and Kudo, 2005;Hirao and Kudo, 2008;Shimono et al, 2009;Wipf et al, 2009;Elmendorf et al, 2012). Some of these exhibit genetically differentiated, phenologically isolated subpopulations Yamagishi et al, 2005;Hirao and Kudo, 2008;Shimono et al, 2009).…”

Section: Snowmelt Differences Results In Phenological Isolation But Nomentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-scale patterns in snowmelt timing affect gene flow and the distribution of genetic diversity in the alpine dwarf shrub Salix herbacea

et al. 2014

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Current threats to biodiversity, such as climate change, are thought to alter the within-species genetic diversity among microhabitats in highly heterogeneous alpine environments. Assessing the spatial organization and dynamics of genetic diversity within species can help to predict the responses of organisms to environmental change. In this study, we evaluated whether small-scale heterogeneity in snowmelt timing restricts gene flow between microhabitats in the common long-lived dwarf shrub Salix herbacea L. We surveyed 273 genets across 12 early-and late-snowmelt sites (that is, ridges and snowbeds) in the Swiss Alps for phenological variation over 2 years and for genetic variation using seven SSR markers. Phenological differentiation triggered by differences in snowmelt timing did not correlate with genetic differentiation between microhabitats. On the contrary, extensive gene flow appeared to occur between microhabitats and slightly less extensively among adjacent mountains. However, ridges exhibited significantly lower levels of genetic diversity than snowbeds, and patterns of effective population size (N e ) and migration (N e m) between microhabitats were strongly asymmetric, with ridges acting as sources and snowbeds as sinks. As no recent genetic bottlenecks were detected in the studied sites, this asymmetry is likely to reflect current metapopulation dynamics of the species dominated by gene flow via seeds rather than ancient re-colonization after the last glacial period. Overall, our results suggest that seed dispersal prevents snowmelt-driven genetic isolation, and snowbeds act as sinks of genetic diversity. We discuss the consequences of such small-scale variation in gene flow and diversity levels for population responses to climate change.

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“…All plots were located within 700 m distance. Snowbed vegetation composed of dwarf shrubs and forbs develops in these plots (see Kudo and Ito 1992 for species composition). We have monitored snowmelt pattern of these plots since 1988.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such a heterogeneous snow distribution is a major factor creating diverse plant communities in alpine ecosystem (Billings and Bliss 1959;Kudo and Ito 1992). Although spatial pattern of snow dynamics is consistent among years, actual timing of snowmelt varies greatly from year to year reflecting inter-annual variation in climate conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat‐specific responses in the flowering phenology and seed set of alpine plants to climate variation: implications for global‐change impacts

2005

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Timing of snowmelt is a crucial factor determining the phenological schedule of alpine plants. A long-term monitoring of snowmelt regimes in a Japanese alpine revealed that snowmelt season has been accelerated during last 17 years in early snowmelt places, but such a trend has not been detected in late snowmelt places. This indicates that the warming effect on snowmelt pattern may be site specific. Flowering phenology of fellfield plants in an exposed wind-blown habitat was consistent between unusually warm year (1998) and normal year (2001). In contrast, flowering occurrence of snowbed plants varied greatly between the years depending on the snowmelt time.The number of flowering species in a fellfield community was large in the middle to late June and the middle to late July. Flowering of an early-melt snowbed community showed a peak in the middle of flowering season, and that of a late-melt snowbed community showed a peak in early flowering season. These habitat-specific phenological patterns were consistent between 1998 and 2001. Effects of the variation in flowering timing on seed-set success were evaluated for an entomophilous snowbed herb, Peucedanum multivittatum, along the snowmelt gradient during five years. When flowering occurred prior to early August, mean temperature during the flowering season positively influenced the seed set. When flowering occurred later than early August, however, plants enjoyed high seed-set success irrespective of temperature conditions if frost damage was absent. This is probably because the availability of pollinators depends not only on ambient temperature but also on seasonal progress. These results suggest that the effects of climate change on biological interaction may vary depending on habitat in the alpine ecosystem in which diverse snowmelt patterns create complicated seasonality for plants within a local area.

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Plant distribution in relation to the length of the growing season in a snow-bed in the Taisetsu Mountains, northern Japan

Cited by 68 publications

References 22 publications

Effect of snow-cover duration on plant species diversity of alpine meadows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Effect of snow-cover duration on plant species diversity of alpine meadows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Small-scale patterns in snowmelt timing affect gene flow and the distribution of genetic diversity in the alpine dwarf shrub Salix herbacea

Habitat‐specific responses in the flowering phenology and seed set of alpine plants to climate variation: implications for global‐change impacts

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