Change and Stability in the Altitude of the Birch Tree-Limit in the Southern Swedish Scandes 1915-75

Major, Jack; Kullman, Leif

doi:10.2307/1550565

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…As the natural boundary of high-altitude ecosystems, the alpine treeline ecotone is widely assumed as the early-warning monitor of climate change for its sensitivity to climate change [4]. The treeline is the upper altitudinal limit at which upright trees reach two meters in height [5][6][7]. Given the importance of environmental factors in controlling the position of the treeline and affecting tree recruitment, the alpine treeline ecotone is thought to be vulnerable to climate change, showing changes in density dynamics, recruitment patterns, and treeline positions [5,[8][9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Spatial Dynamics of Larix potaninii in Alpine Treeline Ecotone in the Eastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China

Cui

Qin

Sun

2017

Forests

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Abstract:The high-altitude treeline is known to be sensitive to climate variability, and is thus considered as a bio-monitoring indicator of climate change. However, our understanding of the population dynamics and the cumulative climate-change effects on the alpine treeline ecotone in recent decades is limited. Here, we investigated the population dynamics of Larix potainii on the southand north-facing slopes in the alpine treeline ecotone in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China, including treeline position, population density, and tree recruitment. Results showed that on both south-and north-facing slopes, the treeline did not show a significant advancement in the past four decades. The population was dominated by young individuals, which tend to be established in the lower areas. Larix, here, tends to be clustered, especially in the upper areas. However, population density increased dramatically only on north-facing slopes. Larix here suffer from the stressful environment, but the warmer winter due to climate warming could facilitate the vertical growth of seedlings and saplings. Aggregated spatial patterns also provide a positive feedback in ameliorating the harsh environment. The slope-climate-moisture interactions have a pronounced impact on tree recruitment, including snow-limited tree establishment on the north-facing slopes and moisture-limited tree establishment on the south-facing slopes.

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