Alpine ecotone in the Siberian Mountains: vegetation response to warming

Birch ( Betula tortuosa ) is one of the treeline forming species within the Siberian Mountains. We analysed the area dynamics of birch stands and the upslope climb of birch treeline based on the Landsat time series scenes and on-ground data. We found that since the warming onset (1970 th ) birch are...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of mountain science 2021-12, Vol.18 (12), p.3099-3108
Main Authors: Kharuk, Viacheslav I., Im, Sergei T., Petrov, Il’ya A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air temperature
Bark
Betula tortuosa
Birch trees
Clusters
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Ecology
Environment
Geography
Growth
Habitat selection
Landsat
Mountains
Original Article
Photosynthesis
Pine trees
Precipitation
Remote sensing
Spring
Spring (season)
Survival
Treeline
Tundra
Wind
Wind speed
Winds
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Summary:Birch ( Betula tortuosa ) is one of the treeline forming species within the Siberian Mountains. We analysed the area dynamics of birch stands and the upslope climb of birch treeline based on the Landsat time series scenes and on-ground data. We found that since the warming onset (1970 th ) birch area increased by 10%, birch stands and treeline boundary were moving upslope with a rate of 1.4 m/yr and 4.0 m/yr. Birch upslope shift correlated with air temperatures at the beginning (May-June) and the end (August-October) of the growth period. Meanwhile, no correlation was found between birch upslope migration and precipitation. Winds negatively influenced both birch area growth and birch upslope climb during spring, fall, and wintertime. In the windy habitats, birch, together with larch and Siberian pine, formed clusters (hedges) which mitigated the influence of adverse winds. These clusters are the adaptive pattern for trees’ upslope climb within windward slopes. The other adaptation to the harsh alpine ecotone habitat is non-leaf (bark) photosynthesis which supports tree survival. Thereby, Betula tortuosa upslope climb depends on the wind impact and warming in spring and fall that extended growth period. With ongoing warming and observed wind speed decrease on the background of sufficient precipitation, it is expected to further birch advance into alpine tundra in the Siberian Mountains.
ISSN:1672-6316
1993-0321
1008-2786
DOI:10.1007/s11629-021-6876-2