Global assessment of experimental climate warming on tundra vegetation: heterogeneity over space and time
Sarah Elmendorf
,
Gregory Henry
(1)
,
Robert Hollister
,
Robert Björk
(2)
,
Anne Bjorkman
(3)
,
Terry Callaghan
(4, 5, 6)
,
Laura Siegwart Collier
,
Elisabeth Cooper
,
Johannes Cornelissen
(7)
,
Thomas Day
(8)
,
Anna Maria Fosaa
(9)
,
William Gould
,
Járngerður Grétarsdóttir
,
John Harte
,
Luise Hermanutz
(10)
,
David Hik
,
Annika Hofgaard
(11)
,
Frith Jarrad
,
Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir
(12)
,
Frida Keuper
,
Kari Klanderud
(13)
,
Julia Klein
,
Saewan Koh
,
Gaku Kudo
,
Simone Lang
,
Val Loewen
,
Jeremy May
,
Joel Mercado
,
Anders Michelsen
,
Ulf Molau
,
Isla Myers-Smith
,
Steven Oberbauer
,
Sara Pieper
,
Eric Post
,
Christian Rixen
,
Clare Robinson
,
Niels Martin Schmidt
,
Gaius Shaver
,
Anna Stenström
,
Anne Tolvanen
,
Ørjan Totland
,
Tiffany Troxler
,
Carl‐henrik Wahren
,
Patrick Webber
,
Jeffery Welker
,
Philip Wookey
1
Tennessee State University
2 GU - Göteborgs Universitet = University of Gothenburg
3 BIOCHANGE - Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World
4 Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry
5 Department of Botany
6 Department of Animal and Plant Sciences
7 Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences [Insubria]
8 LEP - Laboratoire Environnement Profond
9 Faroese Museum of Natural History
10 Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
11 NINA - Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
12 University of Iceland [Reykjavik]
13 NMBU - Norwegian University of Life Sciences
2 GU - Göteborgs Universitet = University of Gothenburg
3 BIOCHANGE - Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World
4 Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry
5 Department of Botany
6 Department of Animal and Plant Sciences
7 Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences [Insubria]
8 LEP - Laboratoire Environnement Profond
9 Faroese Museum of Natural History
10 Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
11 NINA - Norwegian Institute for Nature Research
12 University of Iceland [Reykjavik]
13 NMBU - Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Sarah Elmendorf
- Fonction : Auteur
Robert Hollister
- Fonction : Auteur
Laura Siegwart Collier
- Fonction : Auteur
Elisabeth Cooper
- Fonction : Auteur
William Gould
- Fonction : Auteur
Járngerður Grétarsdóttir
- Fonction : Auteur
John Harte
- Fonction : Auteur
David Hik
- Fonction : Auteur
Frith Jarrad
- Fonction : Auteur
Frida Keuper
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 1317603
- IdHAL : frida-keuper
- ORCID : 0000-0001-8673-7991
Julia Klein
- Fonction : Auteur
Saewan Koh
- Fonction : Auteur
Gaku Kudo
- Fonction : Auteur
Simone Lang
- Fonction : Auteur
Val Loewen
- Fonction : Auteur
Jeremy May
- Fonction : Auteur
Joel Mercado
- Fonction : Auteur
Anders Michelsen
- Fonction : Auteur
Ulf Molau
- Fonction : Auteur
Isla Myers-Smith
- Fonction : Auteur
Steven Oberbauer
- Fonction : Auteur
Sara Pieper
- Fonction : Auteur
Eric Post
- Fonction : Auteur
Christian Rixen
- Fonction : Auteur
Clare Robinson
- Fonction : Auteur
Niels Martin Schmidt
- Fonction : Auteur
Gaius Shaver
- Fonction : Auteur
Anna Stenström
- Fonction : Auteur
Anne Tolvanen
- Fonction : Auteur
Ørjan Totland
- Fonction : Auteur
Tiffany Troxler
- Fonction : Auteur
Carl‐henrik Wahren
- Fonction : Auteur
Patrick Webber
- Fonction : Auteur
Jeffery Welker
- Fonction : Auteur
Philip Wookey
- Fonction : Auteur
Résumé
Ecology Letters (2011) Abstract Understanding the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate warming is critical to forecasting future biodiversity and vegetation feedbacks to climate. In situ warming experiments accelerate climate change on a small scale to forecast responses of local plant communities. Limitations of this approach include the apparent site‐specificity of results and uncertainty about the power of short‐term studies to anticipate longer term change. We address these issues with a synthesis of 61 experimental warming studies, of up to 20 years duration, in tundra sites worldwide. The response of plant groups to warming often differed with ambient summer temperature, soil moisture and experimental duration. Shrubs increased with warming only where ambient temperature was high, whereas graminoids increased primarily in the coldest study sites. Linear increases in effect size over time were frequently observed. There was little indication of saturating or accelerating effects, as would be predicted if negative or positive vegetation feedbacks were common. These results indicate that tundra vegetation exhibits strong regional variation in response to warming, and that in vulnerable regions, cumulative effects of long‐term warming on tundra vegetation – and associated ecosystem consequences – have the potential to be much greater than we have observed to date.