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Changes in species abundance after seven years of elevated atmospheric CO₂ and warming in a Subarctic birch forest understorey, as modified by rodent and moth outbreaks.

ABSTRACT: A seven-year long, two-factorial experiment using elevated temperatures (5 °C) and CO₂ (concentration doubled compared to ambient conditions) designed to test the effects of global climate change on plant community composition was set up in a Subarctic ecosystem in northernmost Sweden. Using point-frequency analyses in permanent plots, an increased abundance of the deciduous Vaccinium myrtillus, the evergreens V. vitis-idaea and Empetrum nigrum ssp. hermaphroditum and the grass Avenella flexuosa was found in plots with elevated temperatures. We also observed a possibly transient community shift in the warmed plots, from the vegetation being dominated by the deciduous V. myrtillus to the evergreen V. vitis-idaea. This happened as a combined effect of V. myrtillus being heavily grazed during two events of herbivore attack-one vole outbreak (Clethrionomys rufocanus) followed by a more severe moth (Epirrita autumnata) outbreak that lasted for two growing seasons-producing a window of opportunity for V. vitis-idaea to utilize the extra light available as the abundance of V. myrtillus decreased, while at the same time benefitting from the increased growth in the warmed plots. Even though the effect of the herbivore attacks did not differ between treatments they may have obscured any additional treatment effects. This long-term study highlights that also the effects of stochastic herbivory events need to be accounted for when predicting future plant community changes.

SUBMITTER: Svensson BM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5982999 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Background and aimsHedgerows have been shown to improve forest connectivity, leading to an increased probability of species tracking the shifting bioclimatic envelopes. However, it is still unknown how species in hedgerows respond to temperature changes, and whether effects differ compared with those in nearby forests. We aimed to elucidate how ongoing changes in the climate system will affect the efficiency of hedgerows in supporting forest plant persistence and migration in agricultural landscapes.MethodsHere we report results from the first warming experiment in hedgerows. We combined reciprocal transplantation of plants along an 860-km latitudinal transect with experimental warming to assess the effects of temperature on vegetative growth and reproduction of two common forest herbs (Anemone nemorosa and Geum urbanum) in hedgerows versus forests.Key resultsBoth species grew taller and produced more biomass in forests than in hedgerows, most likely due to higher competition with ruderals and graminoids in hedgerows. Adult plant performance of both species generally benefitted from experimental warming, despite lower survival of A. nemorosa in heated plots. Transplantation affected the species differently: A. nemorosa plants grew taller, produced more biomass and showed higher survival when transplanted at their home site, indicating local adaptation, while individuals of G. urbanum showed greater height, biomass, reproductive output and survival when transplanted northwards, likely owing to the higher light availability associated with increasing photoperiod during the growing season.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate that some forest herbs can show phenotypic plasticity to warming temperatures, potentially increasing their ability to benefit from hedgerows as ecological corridors. Our study thus provides novel insights into the impacts of climate change on understorey plant community dynamics in hedgerows, and how rising temperature can influence the efficiency of these corridors to assist forest species' persistence and colonization within and beyond their current distribution range.

Project description:Both the direct effects of warming on a species' vital rates and indirect effects of warming caused by interactions with neighboring species can influence plant populations. Furthermore, herbivory mediates the effects of warming on plant community composition in many systems. Thus, determining the importance of direct and indirect effects of warming, while considering the role of herbivory, can help predict long-term plant community dynamics. We conducted a field experiment in the coastal wetlands of western Alaska to investigate how warming and herbivory influence the interactions and abundances of two common plant species, a sedge, Carex ramenskii, and a dwarf shrub, Salix ovalifolia. We used results from the experiment to model the equilibrium abundances of the species under different warming and grazing scenarios and to determine the contribution of direct and indirect effects to predict population changes. Consistent with the current composition of the landscape, model predictions suggest that Carex is more abundant than Salix under ambient temperatures with grazing (53% and 27% cover, respectively). However, with warming and grazing, Salix becomes more abundant than Carex (57% and 41% cover, respectively), reflecting both a negative response of Carex and a positive response of Salix to warming. While grazing reduced the cover of both species, herbivory did not prevent a shift in dominance from sedges to the dwarf shrub. Direct effects of climate change explained about 97% of the total predicted change in species cover, whereas indirect effects explained only 3% of the predicted change. Thus, indirect effects, mediated by interactions between Carex and Salix, were negligible, likely due to use of different niches and weak interspecific interactions. Results suggest that a 2°C increase could cause a shift in dominance from sedges to woody plants on the coast of western Alaska over decadal timescales, and this shift was largely a result of the direct effects of warming. Models predict this shift with or without goose herbivory. Our results are consistent with other studies showing an increase in woody plant abundance in the Arctic and suggest that shifts in plant-plant interactions are not driving this change.

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Changes in species abundance after seven years of elevated atmospheric CO₂ and warming in a Subarctic birch forest understorey, as modified by rodent and moth outbreaks.

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Changes in species abundance after seven years of elevated atmospheric CO2 and warming in a Subarctic birch forest understorey, as modified by rodent and moth outbreaks.

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Changes in species abundance after seven years of elevated atmospheric CO₂ and warming in a Subarctic birch forest understorey, as modified by rodent and moth outbreaks.