effect of an early-season short-term heat pulse on plant recruitment in the Arctic

Climate change will cause large-scale plant migration. Seedling recruitment constitutes a bottleneck in the migration process but is itself climate-dependent. We tested the effect of warming on early establishment of three Arctic pioneer species, while holding other environmental variables constant....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar biology 2009, Vol.32 (8), p.1117-1126
Main Authors: Graae, Bente Jessen, Ejrnæs, R, Marchand, F. L, Milbau, A, Shevtsova, A, Beyens, L, Nijs, I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Aquatic plants
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Climate change
Climatology. Bioclimatology. Climate change
Earth, ocean, space
Ecology
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Germination
Global warming
Heat waves
Life Sciences
Meteorology
Microbiology
Microclimate
Oceanography
Original Paper
Particular ecosystems
Plant biology
Plant Sciences
Seedlings
Soil surfaces
Soil temperature
Surface temperature
Synecology
Tundra
Zoology
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Summary:Climate change will cause large-scale plant migration. Seedling recruitment constitutes a bottleneck in the migration process but is itself climate-dependent. We tested the effect of warming on early establishment of three Arctic pioneer species, while holding other environmental variables constant. Seeds and bulbils were sown in artificial gaps in dry Arctic tundra and subjected to a 13-day heating of the soil surface by 2-8°C, simulating temperature increases ranging from the general summer warming to heat waves projected to occur more frequently with global warming. All species showed decreased establishment with increasing soil surface temperature. The short-term heat pulse decreased establishment of Polygonum viviparum and Saxifraga cernua, whereas establishment of Cerastium alpinum decreased with temperature due to more permanent natural variation in micro-climate. The treatment effects increased by the quadrat of the temperature increase. Warming and in particular heat waves may result in declining establishment of Arctic plants in dry tundra regions.
ISSN:0722-4060
1432-2056
1432-2056
DOI:10.1007/s00300-009-0608-3