Multi-decadal drought and amplified moisture variability drove rapid forest community change in a humid region

Climate variability, particularly the frequency of extreme events, is likely to increase in the coming decades, with poorly understood consequences for terrestrial ecosystems. Hydroclimatic variations of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) provide a setting for studying ecological responses to recent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology (Durham) 2012-02, Vol.93 (2), p.219-226
Main Authors: Booth, Robert K, Jackson, Stephen T, Sousa, Valerie A, Sullivan, Maura E, Minckley, Thomas A, Clifford, Michael J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Bogs
Climate
Climate change
Climate proxies
decadal-to-multidecadal drought
Demography
Drought
Droughts
Ecology
Ecoregions
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Fagus grandifolia
forest dynamics
Forest ecology
Forest fires
Forestry
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
General forest ecology
Generalities. Production, biomass. Quality of wood and forest products. General forest ecology
Great Lakes Region
Humidity
Paleoclimatology
Peatlands
Plant Development
Pollen
Species Specificity
Terrestrial ecosystems
testate amoebae
Time Factors
Trees - physiology
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Summary:Climate variability, particularly the frequency of extreme events, is likely to increase in the coming decades, with poorly understood consequences for terrestrial ecosystems. Hydroclimatic variations of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) provide a setting for studying ecological responses to recent climate variability at magnitudes and timescales comparable to expectations of coming centuries. We examined forest response to the MCA in the humid western Great Lakes region of North America, using proxy records of vegetation, fire, and hydroclimate. Multi-decadal moisture variability during the MCA was associated with a widespread, episodic decline in Fagus grandifolia (beech) populations. Spatial patterns of drought and forest changes were coherent, with beech declining only in areas where proxy-climate records indicate that severe MCA droughts occurred. The occurrence of widespread, drought-induced ecological changes in the Great Lakes region indicates that ecosystems in humid regions are vulnerable to rapid changes in drought magnitude and frequency.
ISSN:0012-9658
1939-9170
DOI:10.1890/11-1068.1