Elevation-specific responses of phenology in evergreen oaks from their low-dry to their extreme high-cold range limits in the SE Himalaya

Climate‐driven shifts in leaf senescence are greater for boreal species than temperate species in the Acadian Forest region in contrast to leaf emergence shifts

“…Together this indicates that more boreal‐typical species like Abies balsamea in the Acadian Forest may suffer declined growth, greater mortality, reduced fitness, a shift in optimal biogeographical envelopes beyond their current range and perhaps a substantially reduced longevity in the context of climate change in the 21st century. This has important implications for forest structure and ecological interactions across the Acadian Forest Region, which is already vulnerable due to most species therein being near the limit of their ranges (Fisichelli et al, 2014 ; Körner et al, 2016 ; Pearson & D'Orangeville, 2022 ; Wang et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Previous studies have predicted a decline in the proportion of boreal species in the Acadian Forest by the late 21st century due to suboptimal growing conditions (Taylor et al, 2017) This has important implications for forest structure and ecological interactions across the Acadian Forest Region, which is already vulnerable due to most species therein being near the limit of their ranges (Fisichelli et al, 2014;Körner et al, 2016;Pearson & D'Orangeville, 2022;Wang et al, 2021).…”

“…Phenology is a trait that constrains where species can survive, as poorly timed phenology can lead to damage from changing environmental conditions, leading to often greater freeze injury risk for non‐native species (Vitasse et al, 2014 ; Zanne et al, 2018 ). Trees which are located near their range limits may be more susceptible to environmental change (Körner et al, 2016 ; Wang et al, 2021 ). The Acadian Forest Region is, therefore, especially vulnerable to future changes in temperature and moisture regimes and models have predicted a compositional decline of boreal species due to warming temperatures outside of the optimal biogeographical climate envelopes for these species (Taylor et al, 2017 ).…”

Satellite-Based Observations Reveal the Altitude-Dependent Patterns of SIFyield and Its Sensitivity to Ambient Temperature in Tibetan Meadows

“…The photosynthesis activity of alpine vegetation and its response to the changing environment has been an attractive topic for centuries [1,2] due to its unparalleled scientific and social significance. In alpine regions, plants along the altitudinal gradient usually habituate themselves well to local environmental conditions, thus their physiological traits vary over relatively short horizontal distances [1,3]. Due to the unique combination of extreme environmental stresses along the altitude gradient, such as low temperature and high light intensity, large amounts of special materials for evolutionary studies on adaptation strategies can be found in alpine regions, which appeals to numerous ecologists and evolutionists [1,[3][4][5][6].…”

“…In alpine regions, plants along the altitudinal gradient usually habituate themselves well to local environmental conditions, thus their physiological traits vary over relatively short horizontal distances [1,3]. Due to the unique combination of extreme environmental stresses along the altitude gradient, such as low temperature and high light intensity, large amounts of special materials for evolutionary studies on adaptation strategies can be found in alpine regions, which appeals to numerous ecologists and evolutionists [1,[3][4][5][6]. The special combination of environmental stresses also makes the alpine area a natural laboratory for vegetation-climate interaction research.…”