Warming shortens flowering seasons of tundra plant communities

Prevéy, Janet S.; Rixen, Christian; Rüger, Nadja; Høye, Toke T.; Bjorkman, Anne D.; Myers‐Smith, Isla H.; Elmendorf, Sarah C.; Ashton, Isabel W.; Cannone, Nicoletta; Chisholm, Chelsea; Clark, Karin; Cooper, Elisabeth J.; Elberling, Bo; Fosaa, Anna Maria; Henry, Gregory H. R.; Hollister, Robert D.; Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg S.; Klanderud, Kari; Kopp, Christopher W.; Lévesque, Esther; Mauritz, Marguerite; Molau, Ulf; Natali, Susan M.; Oberbauer, Steven F.; Panchen, Zoe A.; Post, Eric; Rumpf, Sabine B.; Schmidt, Niels Martin; Schuur, Edward A. G.; Semenchuk, Philipp; Smith, J. A.; Suding, Katharine N.; Totland, Ørjan; Troxler, Tiffany G.; Venn, Susanna; Wahren, Carl-Henrik; Welker, Jeffrey M.; Wipf, Sonja

doi:10.1038/s41559-018-0745-6

Cited by 90 publications

(124 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…A general conclusion is that because snowmelt dates are advancing, growing seasons are getting longer and flowering phenology is getting earlier . But in one study, warmer temperatures are leading to shorter community‐level flowering seasons in tundra ecosystems due to a greater advancement in the flowering times of late‐flowering species than early‐flowering species …”

Section: Alpine Flowering Phenologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of climate change on alpine plants and their pollinators

Inouye

2019

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Alpine environments are among the habitats most strongly affected by climate change, and consequently their unique plants and pollinators are faced with the challenge of adapting or going extinct. Changes in temperature and precipitation affect snowpack and snowmelt, resulting in changes in the growing season in this environment where plant growth and pollinator activity are constrained to the snow‐free season, which can vary significantly across the landscape if there is significant topographic complexity. As in other ecosystems, the resulting changes in phenology are not uniform among species, creating the potential for altered and new interspecific interactions. New plant and animal species are arriving as lower altitude species move up with warming temperatures, introducing new competitors and generating changes in plant–pollinator interactions. Repeating historical surveys, taking advantage of museum collections, and using new technology will facilitate our understanding of how plants and pollinators are responding to the changing alpine environment.

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Section: Alpine Flowering Phenologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of climate change on alpine plants and their pollinators

Inouye

2019

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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“…The ecological processes underlying spectral greening or browning measured by satellites are diverse and may unfold across overlapping scales, extents and timeframes. In tundra ecosystems, vegetation changes linked to spectral greening could include: encroachment of vegetation on previously non-vegetated land surfaces 18,47 , changes in community composition -such as tundra shrub expansion 5,19,27 , and/or changes in plant traits such as height 48,49 , leaf area, or phenology [50][51][52] .…”

Section: Ecological Factors Influencing Greening and Browning Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, few studies have monitored both leaf emergence and senescence of tundra plants in situ and so far provide no evidence for an increasing growing period at specific sites 94,95 . In addition, community-level analyses indicate shorter flowering season lengths around the tundra biome 50 . Shifts in plant phenology with warming 50 could also be linked to changing species composition or diversity 18,48,86 , thus influencing the phenological diversity across the landscape 96,97 .…”

Section: Correspondence Between Satellite and Ground-based Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity revealed in the greening of the Arctic

Myers‐Smith¹,

Kerby²,

Phoenix³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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As the Arctic warms, vegetation is responding and satellite measures indicate widespread greening at high latitudes. This ‘greening of the Arctic’ is among the world’s most significant large-scale ecological responses to global climate change. However, a consensus is emerging that the underlying causes and future dynamics of so-called Arctic greening and browning trends are more complex, variable, and inherently scale dependent than previously thought. Here, we summarize the complexities of observing and interpreting high-latitude greening to identify key priorities for future research. Incorporating satellite and proximal remote sensing with in-situ data, while accounting for uncertainties and scale issues will advance the study of past, present, and future Arctic vegetation change.

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“…As a consequence, snowmelt is found to be a critical period that influences nutrient mobilization, assimilation, and retention in terrestrial ecosystems (Brooks et al 1998, Brooks and Williams 1999, Grogan and Jonasson 2003, Kielland et al 2006, Campbell et al 2007). Rising global air temperature has led to reductions in winter snowpack extent, earlier snowmelt dates, and altered growing season length in many mountainous catchments (Mote et al 2005, Steltzer and Post 2009, Harte et al 2015, Sloat et al 2015, Bormann et al 2018, Prevéy et al 2019). The ecological consequences of such environmental changes, however, are not well understood (Ernakovich et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The snowmelt niche differentiates three microbial life strategies that influence soil nitrogen availability during and after winter

Sørensen

Beller

Bill

et al. 2020

Preprint

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28Soil microbial biomass can reach its annual maximum pool size beneath the winter 29 snowpack and is known to decline abruptly following snowmelt in seasonally snow-covered 30 ecosystems. Observed differences in winter versus summer microbial taxonomic composition 31 also suggests that phylogenetically conserved traits may permit winter-versus summer-adapted 32 microorganisms to occupy distinct niches. In this study, we sought to identify archaea, bacteria, 33 and fungi that are associated with the soil microbial bloom overwinter and the subsequent 34 biomass collapse following snowmelt at a high-altitude watershed in central Colorado, USA. 35 Archaea, bacteria, and fungi were categorized into three life strategies (Winter-Adapted, 36 Snowmelt-Specialist, Spring-Adapted) based on changes in abundance during winter, the 37 snowmelt period, and after snowmelt in spring. We calculated indices of phylogenetic 38 relatedness (archaea and bacteria) or assigned functional attributes (fungi) to organisms within 39 life strategies to infer whether phylogenetically conserved traits differentiate Winter-Adapted, 40 Snowmelt-Specialist, and Spring-Adapted groups. We observed that the soil microbial bloom 41 was correlated in time with a pulse of snowmelt infiltration, which commenced 65 days prior to 42 soils becoming snow-free. A pulse of nitrogen (N, as nitrate) occurred after snowmelt, along 43 with a collapse in the microbial biomass pool size, and an increased abundance of nitrifying 44 archaea and bacteria (e.g., Thaumarchaeota, Nitrospirae). Winter-and Spring-Adapted archaea 45 and bacteria were phylogenetically clustered, suggesting that phylogenetically conserved traits 46 allow Winter-and Spring-Adapted archaea and bacteria to occupy distinct niches. In contrast, 47Snowmelt-Specialist archaea and bacteria were phylogenetically overdispersed, suggesting that 48 the key mechanism(s) of the microbial biomass crash are likely to be density-dependent (e.g., 49trophic interactions, competitive exclusion) and affect organisms across a broad phylogenetic 50 3 spectrum. Saprotrophic fungi were the dominant functional group across fungal life strategies, 51 however, ectomycorrhizal fungi experienced a large increase in abundance in spring. If well-52 coupled plant-mycorrhizal phenology currently buffers ecosystem N losses in spring, then 53 changes in snowmelt timing may alter ecosystem N retention potential. Overall, we observed that 54 the snowmelt separates three distinct soil niches that are occupied by ecologically distinct groups 55 of microorganisms. This ecological differentiation is of biogeochemical importance, particularly 56 with respect to the mobilization of nitrogen during winter, before and after snowmelt. 57 58 59

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Warming shortens flowering seasons of tundra plant communities

Cited by 90 publications

References 74 publications

Effects of climate change on alpine plants and their pollinators

Effects of climate change on alpine plants and their pollinators

Complexity revealed in the greening of the Arctic

The snowmelt niche differentiates three microbial life strategies that influence soil nitrogen availability during and after winter

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