Climate Change Across Seasons Experiment (CCASE): A new method for simulating future climate in seasonally snow-covered ecosystems

Templer, Pamela H.; Reinmann, Andrew B.; Sanders‐DeMott, Rebecca; Sørensen, P.; Juice, Stephanie M.; Bowles, Francis P.; Sofen, Laura E.; Harrison, Jamie L.; Halm, Ian; Rustad, Lindsey E.; Martin, Mary E.; Grant, N.J.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0171928

Cited by 29 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…−2.6°C) recorded in our reference treatment. The soils in this experiment were more exposed to the air than soils in a forest due to lack of mature trees in our study that would otherwise provide thermal insulation (Shanley & Chalmers, ), and we note that soil frost formed earlier and penetrated deeper in our experiment than in soils at a nearby forested site experiencing similar weather conditions (Templer et al., ). Therefore, roots of both tree species in our reference and warmed treatments may have been damaged by freezing more than we would expect beneath a comparable snowpack in a forest understorey and the difference in root damage observed between reference and soils with freeze‐thaw cycle may have been lower than we would have otherwise observed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…Loss of the insulating properties of a deep persistent snowpack will reduce winter soil temperatures and lead to a greater frequency of soil freeze‐thaw cycles (Brown & DeGaetano, ; Campbell et al., ). The direct and indirect consequences of warmer soils in the snow‐free season combined with reduced snow and increased freeze‐thaw cycles in winter are not well understood (Sanders‐DeMott & Templer, ; Templer et al., ). The interactions among these distinct temperature changes across seasons could have important implications for the phenology, productivity and nutrient content of forest plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Snow depth, soil temperature and plant–herbivore interactions mediate plant response to climate change

et al. 2018

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Northern forest ecosystems are projected to experience warmer growing seasons, as well as winters with reduced snowpack depth and duration. Reduced snowpack will expose soils to cold winter air and lead to increased frequency of freeze‐thaw cycles. The interactions between warmer soils in the growing season and colder soils in winter may have important implications for the phenology, productivity and nutrient content of forest plants. We conducted an experiment at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH, USA, to examine the effects of growing season warming, reduced depth and duration of winter snowpack, as well as increased frequency of soil freeze‐thaw cycles on sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and red maple (Acer rubrum) saplings. We examined the direct effects of soil temperatures on plant root health, timing of leaf‐out, foliar nitrogen, rates of photosynthesis and growth, as well as the indirect effects of snowpack reduction on herbivory on plant stems. A smaller winter snowpack and increased frequency of soil freeze‐thaw cycles in winter led to increased root damage and delayed leaf‐out for maple saplings. Snowpack reduction decreased rates of stem herbivory in winter, indicating that alleviation of above‐ground stem damage in winters with reduced snowpack may offset the root damage incurred from successive soil freeze‐thaw cycles in winters with low snowpack. Synthesis. By examining the response of two dominant tree species to simulated climate change in both the growing season and winter, we find that plant responses are mediated through a combination of changes in soil temperature and plant–herbivore interactions that differentially affect above‐ and below‐ground plant components. These results highlight the feedbacks between trophic levels that shape forest function and demonstrate the need for considering climate change across seasons in global change experiments to determine how forest function may change in the future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snow depth, soil temperature and plant–herbivore interactions mediate plant response to climate change

et al. 2018

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“…remains uncertain. Certainly, projected warming and lengthening of the growing season could ameliorate some of the adverse impacts of reduced snowpack and increased soil freezing and these changes in winter climate will likely interact with changes in growing season climate to influence tree growth and forest NPP (Sanders‐DeMott & Templer, ; Templer et al., ). Soil characteristics and nutrient availability play an important role in mediating sugar maple growth response to environmental stressors such as acid rain (Long, Horsley, Hallett, & Bailey, ), and spatial variation in soil characteristics might also mediate sugar maple growth response to soil freezing, but these relationships have yet to be evaluated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Declines in northern forest tree growth following snowpack decline and soil freezing

Reinmann

Susser

Demaria

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

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Changes in growing season climate are often the foci of research exploring forest response to climate change. By contrast, little is known about tree growth response to projected declines in winter snowpack and increases in soil freezing in seasonally snow‐covered forest ecosystems, despite extensive documentation of the importance of winter climate in mediating ecological processes. We conducted a 5‐year snow‐removal experiment whereby snow was removed for the first 4–5 weeks of winter in a northern hardwood forest at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, USA. Our results indicate that adverse impacts of reduced snowpack and increased soil freezing on the physiology of Acer saccharum (sugar maple), a dominant species across northern temperate forests, are accompanied by a 40 ± 3% reduction in aboveground woody biomass increment, averaged across the 6 years following the start of the experiment. Further, we find no indication of growth recovery 1 year after cessation of the experiment. Based on these findings, we integrate spatial modeling of snowpack depth with forest inventory data to develop a spatially explicit, regional‐scale assessment of the vulnerability of forest aboveground growth to projected declines in snowpack depth and increased soil frost. These analyses indicate that nearly 65% of sugar maple basal area in the northeastern United States resides in areas that typically experience insulating snowpack. However, under the RCP 4.5 and 8.5 emissions scenarios, we project a 49%–95% reduction in forest area experiencing insulating snowpack by the year 2099 in the northeastern United States, leaving large areas of northern forest vulnerable to these changes in winter climate, particularly along the northern edge of the region. Our study demonstrates that research focusing on growing season climate alone overestimates the stimulatory effect of warming temperatures on tree and forest growth in seasonally snow‐covered forests.

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“…However, projections for increasing soil freeze/thaw cycles suggest potential damage to roots of maple species, affecting their ability to take up and retain nutrients such as nitrogen (Templer et al. , Sanders‐DeMott et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Northern forest winters have lost cold, snowy conditions that are important for ecosystems and human communities

Contosta

Casson

Garlick³

et al. 2019

Ecological Applications

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Winter is an understudied but key period for the socioecological systems of northeastern North American forests. A growing awareness of the importance of the winter season to forest ecosystems and surrounding communities has inspired several decades of research, both across the northern forest and at other mid‐ and high‐latitude ecosystems around the globe. Despite these efforts, we lack a synthetic understanding of how winter climate change may impact hydrological and biogeochemical processes and the social and economic activities they support. Here, we take advantage of 100 years of meteorological observations across the northern forest region of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada to develop a suite of indicators that enable a cross‐cutting understanding of (1) how winter temperatures and snow cover have been changing and (2) how these shifts may impact both ecosystems and surrounding human communities. We show that cold and snow covered conditions have generally decreased over the past 100 years. These trends suggest positive outcomes for tree health as related to reduced fine root mortality and nutrient loss associated with winter frost but negative outcomes as related to the northward advancement and proliferation of forest insect pests. In addition to effects on vegetation, reductions in cold temperatures and snow cover are likely to have negative impacts on the ecology of the northern forest through impacts on water, soils, and wildlife. The overall loss of coldness and snow cover may also have negative consequences for logging and forest products, vector‐borne diseases, and human health, recreation, and tourism, and cultural practices, which together represent important social and economic dimensions for the northern forest region. These findings advance our understanding of how our changing winters may transform the socioecological system of a region that has been defined by the contrasting rhythm of the seasons. Our research also identifies a trajectory of change that informs our expectations for the future as the climate continues to warm.

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Climate Change Across Seasons Experiment (CCASE): A new method for simulating future climate in seasonally snow-covered ecosystems

Cited by 29 publications

References 41 publications

Snow depth, soil temperature and plant–herbivore interactions mediate plant response to climate change

Snow depth, soil temperature and plant–herbivore interactions mediate plant response to climate change

Declines in northern forest tree growth following snowpack decline and soil freezing

Northern forest winters have lost cold, snowy conditions that are important for ecosystems and human communities

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