Dataset Information

Microclimate moderates plant responses to macroclimate warming.

ABSTRACT: Recent global warming is acting across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems to favor species adapted to warmer conditions and/or reduce the abundance of cold-adapted organisms (i.e., "thermophilization" of communities). Lack of community responses to increased temperature, however, has also been reported for several taxa and regions, suggesting that "climatic lags" may be frequent. Here we show that microclimatic effects brought about by forest canopy closure can buffer biotic responses to macroclimate warming, thus explaining an apparent climatic lag. Using data from 1,409 vegetation plots in European and North American temperate forests, each surveyed at least twice over an interval of 12-67 y, we document significant thermophilization of ground-layer plant communities. These changes reflect concurrent declines in species adapted to cooler conditions and increases in species adapted to warmer conditions. However, thermophilization, particularly the increase of warm-adapted species, is attenuated in forests whose canopies have become denser, probably reflecting cooler growing-season ground temperatures via increased shading. As standing stocks of trees have increased in many temperate forests in recent decades, local microclimatic effects may commonly be moderating the impacts of macroclimate warming on forest understories. Conversely, increases in harvesting woody biomass--e.g., for bioenergy--may open forest canopies and accelerate thermophilization of temperate forest biodiversity.

SUBMITTER: De Frenne P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3832027 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Microclimate moderates plant responses to macroclimate warming.

De Frenne Pieter P Rodríguez-Sánchez Francisco F Coomes David Anthony DA Baeten Lander L Verstraeten Gorik G Vellend Mark M Bernhardt-Römermann Markus M Brown Carissa D CD Brunet Jörg J Cornelis Johnny J Decocq Guillaume M GM Dierschke Hartmut H Eriksson Ove O Gilliam Frank S FS Hédl Radim R Heinken Thilo T Hermy Martin M Hommel Patrick P Jenkins Michael A MA Kelly Daniel L DL Kirby Keith J KJ Mitchell Fraser J G FJ Naaf Tobias T Newman Miles M Peterken George G Petrík Petr P Schultz Jan J Sonnier Grégory G Van Calster Hans H Waller Donald M DM Walther Gian-Reto GR White Peter S PS Woods Kerry D KD Wulf Monika M Graae Bente Jessen BJ Verheyen Kris K

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20131028 46

Recent global warming is acting across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems to favor species adapted to warmer conditions and/or reduce the abundance of cold-adapted organisms (i.e., "thermophilization" of communities). Lack of community responses to increased temperature, however, has also been reported for several taxa and regions, suggesting that "climatic lags" may be frequent. Here we show that microclimatic effects brought about by forest canopy closure can buffer biotic response ...[more]

PMID: 24167287

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Dataset Information

Microclimate moderates plant responses to macroclimate warming.

Publications

Microclimate moderates plant responses to macroclimate warming.

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