1
|
Berner LT, Orndahl KM, Rose M, Tamstorf M, Arndal MF, Alexander HD, Humphreys ER, Loranty MM, Ludwig SM, Nyman J, Juutinen S, Aurela M, Happonen K, Mikola J, Mack MC, Vankoughnett MR, Iversen CM, Salmon VG, Yang D, Kumar J, Grogan P, Danby RK, Scott NA, Olofsson J, Siewert MB, Deschamps L, Lévesque E, Maire V, Morneault A, Gauthier G, Gignac C, Boudreau S, Gaspard A, Kholodov A, Bret-Harte MS, Greaves HE, Walker D, Gregory FM, Michelsen A, Kumpula T, Villoslada M, Ylänne H, Luoto M, Virtanen T, Forbes BC, Hölzel N, Epstein H, Heim RJ, Bunn A, Holmes RM, Hung JKY, Natali SM, Virkkala AM, Goetz SJ. The Arctic Plant Aboveground Biomass Synthesis Dataset. Sci Data 2024; 11:305. [PMID: 38509110 PMCID: PMC10954756 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03139-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Plant biomass is a fundamental ecosystem attribute that is sensitive to rapid climatic changes occurring in the Arctic. Nevertheless, measuring plant biomass in the Arctic is logistically challenging and resource intensive. Lack of accessible field data hinders efforts to understand the amount, composition, distribution, and changes in plant biomass in these northern ecosystems. Here, we present The Arctic plant aboveground biomass synthesis dataset, which includes field measurements of lichen, bryophyte, herb, shrub, and/or tree aboveground biomass (g m-2) on 2,327 sample plots from 636 field sites in seven countries. We created the synthesis dataset by assembling and harmonizing 32 individual datasets. Aboveground biomass was primarily quantified by harvesting sample plots during mid- to late-summer, though tree and often tall shrub biomass were quantified using surveys and allometric models. Each biomass measurement is associated with metadata including sample date, location, method, data source, and other information. This unique dataset can be leveraged to monitor, map, and model plant biomass across the rapidly warming Arctic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Logan T Berner
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA.
| | - Kathleen M Orndahl
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA
| | - Melissa Rose
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA
| | - Mikkel Tamstorf
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Marie F Arndal
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Heather D Alexander
- College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment, Auburn University, Auburn, USA
| | - Elyn R Humphreys
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
| | | | - Sarah M Ludwig
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, Palisades, USA
| | - Johanna Nyman
- Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
| | - Sari Juutinen
- Climate System Research, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mika Aurela
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Juha Mikola
- Bioeconomy and Environment Unit, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Michelle C Mack
- Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA
| | | | - Colleen M Iversen
- Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
| | - Verity G Salmon
- Climate Change Science Institute, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
- Environmental Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
| | - Dedi Yang
- Environmental Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
| | - Jitendra Kumar
- Environmental Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
| | - Paul Grogan
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
| | - Ryan K Danby
- Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
| | - Neal A Scott
- Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada
| | - Johan Olofsson
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Matthias B Siewert
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Lucas Deschamps
- Département des sciences de l'environnement, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
| | - Esther Lévesque
- Département des sciences de l'environnement, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
| | - Vincent Maire
- Département des sciences de l'environnement, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
| | - Amélie Morneault
- Département des sciences de l'environnement, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
| | - Gilles Gauthier
- Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Department of Biology, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | - Charles Gignac
- Centre d'Études Nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- Department of Plant Science, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Anna Gaspard
- Department of Biology, Université Laval, Québec, Canada
| | | | | | - Heather E Greaves
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA
| | - Donald Walker
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA
| | - Fiona M Gregory
- Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Anders Michelsen
- Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, København, Denmark
| | - Timo Kumpula
- Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
| | - Miguel Villoslada
- Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
- Institute of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Henni Ylänne
- School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
| | - Miska Luoto
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tarmo Virtanen
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Bruce C Forbes
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Howard Epstein
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA
| | - Ramona J Heim
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Andrew Bunn
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Western Washington University, Bellingham, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Scott J Goetz
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, USA
- Bioeconomy and Environment Unit, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Helsinki, Finland
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
García Criado M, Myers-Smith IH, Bjorkman AD, Normand S, Blach-Overgaard A, Thomas HJD, Eskelinen A, Happonen K, Alatalo JM, Anadon-Rosell A, Aubin I, Te Beest M, Betway-May KR, Blok D, Buras A, Cerabolini BEL, Christie K, Cornelissen JHC, Forbes BC, Frei ER, Grogan P, Hermanutz L, Hollister RD, Hudson J, Iturrate-Garcia M, Kaarlejärvi E, Kleyer M, Lamarque LJ, Lembrechts JJ, Lévesque E, Luoto M, Macek P, May JL, Prevéy JS, Schaepman-Strub G, Sheremetiev SN, Siegwart Collier L, Soudzilovskaia NA, Trant A, Venn SE, Virkkala AM. Plant traits poorly predict winner and loser shrub species in a warming tundra biome. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3837. [PMID: 37380662 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39573-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Climate change is leading to species redistributions. In the tundra biome, shrubs are generally expanding, but not all tundra shrub species will benefit from warming. Winner and loser species, and the characteristics that may determine success or failure, have not yet been fully identified. Here, we investigate whether past abundance changes, current range sizes and projected range shifts derived from species distribution models are related to plant trait values and intraspecific trait variation. We combined 17,921 trait records with observed past and modelled future distributions from 62 tundra shrub species across three continents. We found that species with greater variation in seed mass and specific leaf area had larger projected range shifts, and projected winner species had greater seed mass values. However, trait values and variation were not consistently related to current and projected ranges, nor to past abundance change. Overall, our findings indicate that abundance change and range shifts will not lead to directional modifications in shrub trait composition, since winner and loser species share relatively similar trait spaces.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anne D Bjorkman
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Signe Normand
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | | | - Haydn J D Thomas
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
| | - Anu Eskelinen
- Department of Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Konsta Happonen
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Juha M Alatalo
- Environmental Science Center, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Alba Anadon-Rosell
- CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Isabelle Aubin
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste Marie, ON, Canada
| | - Mariska Te Beest
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
| | | | - Daan Blok
- Dutch Research Council (NWO), The Hague, The Netherlands
| | - Allan Buras
- Land Surface-Atmosphere Interactions, School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany
| | - Bruno E L Cerabolini
- Department of Biotechnologies and Life Sciences, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Katherine Christie
- Threatened, Endangered, and Diversity Program, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Anchorage, USA
| | - J Hans C Cornelissen
- Section Systems Ecology, Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-LIFE), Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Bruce C Forbes
- Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland
| | - Esther R Frei
- WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Climate Change and Extremes in Alpine Regions Research Centre CERC, Davos, Switzerland
| | - Paul Grogan
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, ON, Canada
| | - Luise Hermanutz
- Department of Biology, Memorial University, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | | | - James Hudson
- Government of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Maitane Iturrate-Garcia
- Department of Chemical and Biological Metrology, Federal Institute of Metrology METAS, Bern-Wabern, Switzerland
| | - Elina Kaarlejärvi
- Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Michael Kleyer
- Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Laurent J Lamarque
- Département des Sciences de l'environnement et Centre d'études nordiques, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada
| | - Jonas J Lembrechts
- Research Group Plants and Ecosystems (PLECO), University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Esther Lévesque
- Département des Sciences de l'environnement et Centre d'études nordiques, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada
| | - Miska Luoto
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Petr Macek
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Jeremy L May
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Marietta College, Marietta, OH, USA
| | - Janet S Prevéy
- WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, Davos, Switzerland
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Gabriela Schaepman-Strub
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Laura Siegwart Collier
- Department of Biology, Memorial University, St. John's, NL, Canada
- Terra Nova National Park, Parks Canada Agency, Glovertown, NL, Canada
| | | | - Andrew Trant
- School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - Susanna E Venn
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC, Australia
| | - Anna-Maria Virkkala
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Woodwell Climate Research Center, Falmouth, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kemppinen J, Niittynen P, le Roux PC, Momberg M, Happonen K, Aalto J, Rautakoski H, Enquist BJ, Vandvik V, Halbritter AH, Maitner B, Luoto M. Consistent trait-environment relationships within and across tundra plant communities. Nat Ecol Evol 2021; 5:458-467. [PMID: 33633373 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01396-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
A fundamental assumption in trait-based ecology is that relationships between traits and environmental conditions are globally consistent. We use field-quantified microclimate and soil data to explore if trait-environment relationships are generalizable across plant communities and spatial scales. We collected data from 6,720 plots and 217 species across four distinct tundra regions from both hemispheres. We combined these data with over 76,000 database trait records to relate local plant community trait composition to broad gradients of key environmental drivers: soil moisture, soil temperature, soil pH and potential solar radiation. Results revealed strong, consistent trait-environment relationships across Arctic and Antarctic regions. This indicates that the detected relationships are transferable between tundra plant communities also when fine-scale environmental heterogeneity is accounted for, and that variation in local conditions heavily influences both structural and leaf economic traits. Our results strengthen the biological and mechanistic basis for climate change impact predictions of vulnerable high-latitude ecosystems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mia Momberg
- University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | | | - Juha Aalto
- Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Maliniemi T, Happonen K, Virtanen R. Site fertility drives temporal turnover of vegetation at high latitudes. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:13255-13266. [PMID: 31871643 PMCID: PMC6912880 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2019] [Accepted: 10/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Experimental evidence shows that site fertility is a key modulator underlying plant community changes under climate change. Communities on fertile sites, with species having fast dynamics, have been found to react more strongly to climate change than communities on infertile sites with slow dynamics. However, it is still unclear whether this generally applies to high-latitude plant communities in natural environments at broad spatial scales. We tested a hypothesis that vegetation of fertile sites experiences greater changes over several decades and thus would be more responsive under contemporary climate change compared to infertile sites that are expected to show more resistance. We resurveyed understorey communities (vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens) of four infertile and four fertile forest sites along a latitudinal bioclimatic gradient. Sites had remained outside direct human disturbance. We analyzed the magnitude of temporal community turnover, changes in the abundances of plant morphological groups and strategy classes, and changes in species diversity. In agreement with our hypothesis, temporal turnover of communities was consistently greater on fertile sites compared to infertile sites. However, our results suggest that the larger turnover of fertile communities is not primarily related to the direct effects of climatic warming. Furthermore, community changes in both fertile and infertile sites showed remarkable variation in terms of shares of plant functional groups and strategy classes and measures of species diversity. This further emphasizes the essential role of baseline environmental conditions and nonclimatic drivers underlying vegetation changes. Our results show that site fertility is a key determinant of the overall rate of high-latitude vegetation changes but the composition of plant communities in different ecological contexts is variously impacted by nonclimatic drivers over time.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tuija Maliniemi
- Geography Research UnitUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Ecology and Genetics Research UnitUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
| | - Konsta Happonen
- Department of Geosciences and GeographyUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Risto Virtanen
- Ecology and Genetics Research UnitUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Department of Physiological DiversityHelmholtz Center for Environmental Research – UFZLeipzigGermany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Happonen K, Aalto J, Kemppinen J, Niittynen P, Virkkala AM, Luoto M. Snow is an important control of plant community functional composition in oroarctic tundra. Oecologia 2019; 191:601-608. [PMID: 31522244 PMCID: PMC6825026 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04508-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The functional composition of plant communities is a critical modulator of climate change impacts on ecosystems, but it is not a simple function of regional climate. In the Arctic tundra, where climate change is proceeding the most rapidly, communities have not shifted their trait composition as predicted by spatial temperature-trait relationships. Important causal pathways are thus missing from models of trait composition change. Here, we study causes of plant community functional variation in an oroarctic tundra landscape in Kilpisjärvi, Finland. We consider the community-weighted means of plant vegetative height, as well as two traits related to the leaf economic spectrum. Specifically, we model their responses to locally measured summer air temperature, snow conditions, and soil resource levels. For each of the traits, we also quantify the importance of intraspecific trait variation (ITV) for between-community functional differences and trait-environment matching. Our study shows that in a tundra landscape (1) snow is the most influential abiotic variable affecting functional composition, (2) vegetation height is under weak local environmental control, whereas leaf economics is under strong local environmental control, (3) the relative magnitude of ITV differs between traits, and (4) ITV is not very consequential for community-level trait-environment relationships. Our analyses highlight the importance of winter conditions for community functional composition in seasonal areas. We show that winter climate change can either amplify or counter the effects summer warming, depending on the trait.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Konsta Happonen
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Juha Aalto
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Julia Kemppinen
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Pekka Niittynen
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anna-Maria Virkkala
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Miska Luoto
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| |
Collapse
|