Complexity revealed in the greening of the Arctic

Myers‐Smith, Isla H.; Kerby, Jeffrey T.; Phoenix, Gareth K.; Bjerke, Jarle W.; Epstein, Howard E.; Assmann, Jakob J.; John, Christian; Andreu‐Hayles, Laia; Angers‐Blondin, Sandra; Beck, Pieter S. A.; Berner, L. T.; Bhatt, Uma S.; Bjorkman, Anne D.; Blok, Daan; Bryn, Anders; Christiansen, Casper T.; Cornelissen, Johannes H. C.; Cunliffe, Andrew M.; Elmendorf, Sarah C.; Forbes, Bruce C.; Goetz, Scott J.; Hollister, Robert D.; Jong, Rogier de; Loranty, M. M.; Macias‐Fauria, Marc; Maseyk, Kadmiel; Normand, Signe; Olofsson, Johan; Parker, Thomas C.; Parmentier, Frans‐Jan W.; Post, Eric; Schaepman‐Strub, Gabriela; Stordal, Frøde; Sullivan, Patrick F.; Thomas, Haydn J. D.; Tømmervik, Hans; Treharne, Rachael; Tweedie, C. E.; Walker, Donald A.; Wilmking, Martin; Wipf, Sonja

doi:10.1038/s41558-019-0688-1

Cited by 584 publications

(541 citation statements)

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“…Climate warming is causing large-scale increases in primary productivity in much of the terrestrial Arctic (Myers-Smith et al, 2020), as predicted by long-term warming experiments (Elmendorf et al, 2012a) and vegetation models (Yu et al, 2017). Where changes in ecosystem productivity are occurring, they are driven by increased growth of tundra vegetation (Elmendorf et al, 2012b;Bjorkman et al, 2018), but also often by an increase in cover and geographical range of deciduous shrub species (Myers-Smith et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rhizosphere allocation by canopy‐forming species dominates soil CO₂ efflux in a subarctic landscape

et al. 2020

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In arctic ecosystems, climate change has increased plant productivity. As arctic carbon (C) stocks predominantly are located belowground, the effects of greater plant productivity on soil C storage will significantly determine the net sink/source potential of these ecosystems, but vegetation controls on soil CO 2 efflux remain poorly resolved. In order to identify the role of canopy-forming species in belowground C dynamics, we conducted a girdling experiment with plots distributed across 1 km 2 of treeline birch (Betula pubescens) forest and willow (Salix lapponum) patches in northern Sweden and quantified the contribution of canopy vegetation to soil CO 2 fluxes and belowground productivity. Girdling birches reduced total soil CO 2 efflux in the peak growing season by 53%, which is double the expected amount, given that trees contribute only half of the total leaf area in the forest. Root and mycorrhizal mycelial production also decreased substantially. At peak season, willow shrubs contributed 38% to soil CO 2 efflux in their patches. Our findings indicate that C, recently fixed by trees and tall shrubs, makes a substantial contribution to soil respiration. It is critically important that these processes are taken into consideration in the context of a greening arctic because productivity and ecosystem C sequestration are not synonymous.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rhizosphere allocation by canopy‐forming species dominates soil CO₂ efflux in a subarctic landscape

et al. 2020

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“…Different influences of temperature on below-and aboveground plant measurements could question current methods of monitoring changes in arctic vegetation, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) used as a proxy for plant biomass. This technology advanced the understanding of vegetation biomass dynamics simultaneously over vast and otherwise under-sampled areas of the Arctic (e.g [65][66][67]. ).…”

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Can root-associated fungi mediate the impact of abiotic conditions on the growth of a High Arctic herb?

Wutkowska

Ehrich

Mundra

et al. 2020

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Arctic plants are affected by many stressors. Root-associated fungi are thought to influence plant performance in stressful environmental conditions. However, the relationships are not transparent; do the number of fungal partners, their ecological functions and community composition mediate the impact of environmental conditions and/or influence host plant performance? To address these questions, we used a common arctic plant as a model system: Bistorta vivipara . Whole plants (including root system) were collected from nine locations in Spitsbergen (n=214). Morphometric features were measured as a proxy for performance and combined with metabarcoding datasets of their root-associated fungi (amplicon sequence variants, ASVs), edaphic and meteorological variables. Seven biological hypotheses regarding fungal influence on plant measures were tested using structural equation modelling. The best-fitting model revealed that local temperature affected plants both directly (negatively aboveground and positively below-ground) and indirectly -mediated by fungal richness and the ratio of symbio-and saprotrophic ASVs. Fungal community composition did not impact plant measurements and plant reproductive investment did not depend on any fungal parameters. The lack of impact of fungal community composition on plant performance suggests that the functional importance of fungi is more important than their identity. The influence of temperature on host plants is therefore complex and should be examined further.

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“…For the Arctic as a whole, trends are complex, as Myers-Smith et al state: "Figures vary from 42% greening and 2.5% browning from 1982 to 2014 in the GIMMS3g AVHRR dataset to 20% greening and 4% browning from 2000 to 2016 in Landsat data, and to estimates of 13% greening and 1% browning for the MODIS trends calculated for 1,000 random points in the tundra polygon from 2000 to 2018." ( [7], p. 107).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Winter Stress Vulnerability of High-Latitude Understory Vegetation Using Intraspecific Trait Variability and Remote Sensing Approaches

Ritz

Bjerke

Tømmervik

2020

Sensors

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In this study, we focused on three species that have proven to be vulnerable to winter stress: Empetrum nigrum, Vaccinium vitis-idaea and Hylocomium splendens. Our objective was to determine plant traits suitable for monitoring plant stress as well as trait shifts during spring. To this end, we used a combination of active and passive handheld normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) sensors, RGB indices derived from ordinary cameras, an optical chlorophyll and flavonol sensor (Dualex), and common plant traits that are sensitive to winter stress, i.e. height, specific leaf area (SLA). Our results indicate that NDVI is a good predictor for plant stress, as it correlates well with height (r = 0.70, p < 0.001) and chlorophyll content (r = 0.63, p < 0.001). NDVI is also related to soil depth (r = 0.45, p < 0.001) as well as to plant stress levels based on observations in the field (r = −0.60, p < 0.001). Flavonol content and SLA remained relatively stable during spring. Our results confirm a multi-method approach using NDVI data from the Sentinel-2 satellite and active near-remote sensing devices to determine the contribution of understory vegetation to the total ecosystem greenness. We identified low soil depth to be the major stressor for understory vegetation in the studied plots. The RGB indices were good proxies to detect plant stress (e.g. Channel G%: r = −0.77, p < 0.001) and showed high correlation with NDVI (r = 0.75, p < 0.001). Ordinary cameras and modified cameras with the infrared filter removed were found to perform equally well.

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Complexity revealed in the greening of the Arctic

Abstract: 2020). Complexity revealed in the greening of the Arctic. Nature Climate Change, 10 pp. 106-117.For guidance on citations see FAQs.

Cited by 584 publications

References 128 publications

Rhizosphere allocation by canopy‐forming species dominates soil CO₂ efflux in a subarctic landscape

Rhizosphere allocation by canopy‐forming species dominates soil CO₂ efflux in a subarctic landscape

Can root-associated fungi mediate the impact of abiotic conditions on the growth of a High Arctic herb?

Monitoring Winter Stress Vulnerability of High-Latitude Understory Vegetation Using Intraspecific Trait Variability and Remote Sensing Approaches

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Complexity revealed in the greening of the Arctic

Abstract: 2020). Complexity revealed in the greening of the Arctic. Nature Climate Change, 10 pp. 106-117.For guidance on citations see FAQs.

Cited by 584 publications

References 128 publications

Rhizosphere allocation by canopy‐forming species dominates soil CO2 efflux in a subarctic landscape

Rhizosphere allocation by canopy‐forming species dominates soil CO2 efflux in a subarctic landscape

Can root-associated fungi mediate the impact of abiotic conditions on the growth of a High Arctic herb?

Monitoring Winter Stress Vulnerability of High-Latitude Understory Vegetation Using Intraspecific Trait Variability and Remote Sensing Approaches

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Rhizosphere allocation by canopy‐forming species dominates soil CO₂ efflux in a subarctic landscape

Rhizosphere allocation by canopy‐forming species dominates soil CO₂ efflux in a subarctic landscape