A Network for Observing Great Basin Climate Change

Mensing, Scott; Strachan, Scotty; Arnone, Jay; Fenstermaker, Lynn; Biondi, Franco; Devitt, D. A.; Johnson, Brittany G.; Bird, Brian M.; Fritzinger, Eric

doi:10.1002/2013eo110001

Cited by 31 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…2). These mountain ranges share a common biogeographic history and are all large -exceeding 3450 m in elevation and thus containing the full complement of the region's habitat types along the elevation gradient (Mensing et al 2013. The respective assemblages also share 52-69% of small mammal species captured during our surveys, with 15 of 34 species observed in all three mountain ranges (Supplementary material Appendix 1 Table A1).…”

Section: Small Mammal Field Surveysmentioning

confidence: 81%

A trait‐based framework for discerning drivers of species co‐occurrence across heterogeneous landscapes

2018

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Null model analysis of species co‐occurrence patterns has long been used to gain insight into community assembly but is often limited to identifying non‐random patterns without providing clarity about underlying ecological mechanisms. This challenge is especially apparent when sampling units are spread across a heterogeneous landscape or along an environmental gradient because multiple mechanisms can produce similar co‐occurrence patterns. We developed a trait‐based approach for discriminating between environmental filtering and biotic interactions as the probable driver of co‐occurrence patterns across environmentally heterogeneous sites. We demonstrate our framework by analyzing the co‐occurrence of small mammals over elevation in three independent mountain ranges in the Great Basin of the western United States. Our sampling design accounts for landscape scale environmental variability and within‐site habitat heterogeneity. We identified 52 non‐random species pairs, of which 36 were aggregated and 16 were segregated. For each pair, we determined which mechanism was the likely ecological explanation using a hypothesis‐testing framework based on functional trait similarity. Expectations of biotic interactions were based on similarity of diet and body size whereas habitat affinity and geographic range were used for environmental filtering. Only four pairs were consistent with expectations under biotic interactions, including pairs for which competitive exclusion has previously been documented. In addition to analyzing individual pairs, we used binomial tests of observed versus expected totals of intra‐ and inter‐guild pairs to determine assemblage‐wide deviations from random community structure. Signatures of environmental filtering were consistent across mountain ranges and scales. Despite differences in species composition and significant pairs among data sets, our approach revealed consistent mechanistic conclusions, emphasizing the value of trait‐based methods to co‐occurrence and community assembly.

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Section: Small Mammal Field Surveysmentioning

confidence: 81%

A trait‐based framework for discerning drivers of species co‐occurrence across heterogeneous landscapes

2018

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“…The study site (38°54′22″N, 114°18′32″W) is part of the Nevada Climate-ecohydrological Assessment Network (NevCAN), a mountain observatory which consists of two valley-to-mountain transects established between 2010 and 2013 to collect long-term data on climate variability and its ecohydrological impacts (Mensing et al, 2013). Bristlecone pine is the dominant overstory species at the study area, with scattered individuals of limber pine ( Pinus flexilis E.James) and Engelmann spruce ( Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.)…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wood Cellular Dendroclimatology: Testing New Proxies in Great Basin Bristlecone Pine

2016

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Dendroclimatic proxies can be generated from the analysis of wood cellular structures, allowing for a more complete understanding of the physiological mechanisms that control the climatic response of tree species. Century-long (1870–2013) time series of anatomical parameters were developed for Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva D.K. Bailey) by capturing strongly contrasted microscopic images through a Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope. Environmental information embedded in wood anatomical series was analyzed in comparison with ring-width series using measures of empirical signal strength. Response functions were calculated against monthly climatic variables to evaluate climate sensitivity of cellular features (e.g., lumen area; lumen diameter) for the period 1950–2013. Calibration-verification tests were used to determine the potential to generate long climate reconstructions from these anatomical proxies. A total of eight tree-ring parameters (two ring-width and six chronologies of xylem anatomical parameters) were analyzed. Synchronous variability among samples varied among tree-ring parameters, usually decreasing from ring-width to anatomical features. Cellular parameters linked to plant hydraulic performance (e.g., tracheid lumen area and radial lumen diameter) showed empirical signal strength similar to ring-width series, while noise was predominant in chronologies of lumen tangential width and cell wall thickness. Climatic signals were different between anatomical and ring-width chronologies, revealing a positive and temporally stable correlation of tracheid size (i.e., lumen and cell diameter) with monthly (i.e., March) and seasonal precipitation. In particular, tracheid lumen diameter emerged as a reliable moisture indicator and was then used to reconstruct total March–August precipitation from 1870 to 2013. Wood anatomy holds great potential to refine and expand dendroclimatic records by allowing estimates of plant physiological adaptations to external stressors. Integrating xylem cellular features with ring-width chronologies can widen our understanding of past climatic variability (including annual extreme events) and improve the evaluation of long-term plant response to drought, especially in connection with future warming scenarios.

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“…The low-elevation mountain site was considered as a natural analog to simulate future changes under greenhouse forcing scenarios (Cook et al 2014). Climatic influence on tree growth were tested using cellular and stem phenology measured at two monitoring stations in a Great Basin mountain observatory (Mensing et al 2013), where temperature and precipitation change linearly with elevation. Our main research questions were (a) how is climate reflected in the phenology of xylem production?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree growth, cambial phenology, and wood anatomy of limber pine at a Great Basin (USA) mountain observatory

Ziaco

Biondi

2016

Trees

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Key message Anatomical features of Pinus flexilis under warmer and drier conditions along an altitudinal transect revealed a shorter growing season and shifts in the timing of wood formation. Abstract Future climate change driven by greenhouse warming is expected to increase both frequency and severity of drought events and heat waves. Possible consequences for forest ecosystems include changes in foundation species and extended die-off phenomena. We investigated tree growth under the set of biotic and abiotic conditions, and their interactions, that are expected in a drier and warmer world using mountain observatories designed to capture elevation gradients in the Great Basin of North America. Stem cambial activity, wood anatomy, and radial growth of limber pine (Pinus flexilis) were examined at two different elevations using automated dendrometers and repeated histological microcores in 2013-2014. Mean annual temperature was 3.7°cooler at the higher site, which received 170 mm year -1 of precipitation more than the lower site. Mean air temperature thresholds for xylogenesis computed using logistic regression were 7.7 and 12.0°C at the higher and lower site, respectively. No differences in the onset date of cambial activity were found under such naturally contrasted conditions, with the global change analog provided by the lower site. Growing season was shortened by increasing drought stress at the lower site, thereby reducing xylem production. Stem expansion was only detectable by automated dendrometers at the higher site. Using elevation to simulate climatic changes and their realized ecosystem feedbacks, it was possible to express tree responses in terms of xylem phenology and anatomical adaptations.

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A Network for Observing Great Basin Climate Change

Cited by 31 publications

References 0 publications

A trait‐based framework for discerning drivers of species co‐occurrence across heterogeneous landscapes

A trait‐based framework for discerning drivers of species co‐occurrence across heterogeneous landscapes

Wood Cellular Dendroclimatology: Testing New Proxies in Great Basin Bristlecone Pine

Tree growth, cambial phenology, and wood anatomy of limber pine at a Great Basin (USA) mountain observatory

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