Geomorphological processes shape plant community traits in the Arctic

Kemppinen, Julia; Niittynen, Pekka; Happonen, Konsta; Roux, Peter C. le; Aalto, Juha; Hjort, Jan; Maliniemi, Tuija; Karjalainen, Olli; Rautakoski, Helena; Luoto, Miska; McGill, Brian J.

doi:10.1111/geb.13512

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…Former studies have shown the importance of snow persistence when examining taxonomic (Löffler and Pape 2008, Niittynen et al 2018) and functional (Niittynen et al 2020) vascular plant diversity. Likewise, fluvial conditions and other geomorphological features are known to be fundamental predictors of species richness (le Roux and Luoto 2013) and community functional composition in tundra (Kemppinen et al 2022). Our study corroborates these findings and highlights the importance of snow persistence and fluvial disturbance on phylogenetic diversity as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fluvial processes create varying habitats, redistribute water and nutrients as well as generate disturbance for vegetation affecting both species richness and community composition (le Roux and Luoto 2013, Kemppinen et al 2022). Fluvial disturbance (Fluvial, Supporting information) was incorporated in our models by calculating distance to running waters using digitised stream network and digital elevation model at 2‐m resolution.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, meltwater creates microhabitats and causes disturbance for vegetation. Both snow cover duration and fluvial conditions have shown to affect species distributions, richness, and community composition (Löffler and Pape 2008, le Roux and Luoto 2013, Kemppinen et al 2022. Therefore, drastic effects on tundra biodiversity can be triggered, as cold regions shift from snow dominated towards rain dominated under warming climate (Bintanja andAndry 2017, IPCC 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Local snow and fluvial conditions drive taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic plant diversity in tundra

Rissanen,

Aalto,

Kainulainen

et al. 2023

Oikos

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To understand, how the diversity and hence functioning of tundra ecosystems might respond to altering environmental conditions, fine‐scale studies are needed as local conditions may buffer broad‐scale environmental changes. Furthermore, species functional traits and phylogeny may provide complementary insights to taxonomic diversity patterns as they link plant communities to ecosystem processes often more closely than species count. Here, we examined taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic plant diversity in relation to fundamental environmental factors, namely, growing degree days, snow persistence, soil moisture, pH and fluvial disturbance in northern Norway. The relationships between eight diversity metrics and environmental predictors were investigated using hierarchical generalised additive models. Our results indicated that taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic plant diversity in tundra are all strongly linked to local snow and fluvial conditions, with average variable importance of 0.19 and 0.14, respectively, whereas the importance of other predictors was low (average variable importance < 0.06). The average explained deviance by the models was 0.23. Predicted hotspots of different diversity metrics overlapped notably and were mostly located along the streams. However, when the effect of taxonomic richness was removed from the phylogenetic and functional diversities their connections with environmental predictors were weaker but indicated strongest relationships with snow and soil pH showing distinct diversity hotspots in areas with low species richness. Our study demonstrates that investigating multiple facets of biodiversity enhances understanding on community patterns and their drivers. Furthermore, our results highlight the importance of addressing local hydrological conditions that represent both resources and disturbances for vegetation. As arctic and alpine areas are probably shifting from snow to rain dominated, incorporating snow and fluvial information into the models might be particularly important to better understand tundra ecosystems under global change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Local snow and fluvial conditions drive taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic plant diversity in tundra

Rissanen,

Aalto,

Kainulainen

et al. 2023

Oikos

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“…There is already evidence that increased instances of hot, dry days have increased soil erosion in Iceland (Owczarek et al, 2022). Higher variability in soil moisture will lead to increased moisture stress, compounded by reduced organic layer depths and reduced water retention capacity (Kemppinen et al, 2022). More frequent extreme weather—particularly rainstorms and periods of high winds—will increase erosive forces.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many factors combine to promote high‐latitude soil erosion, including vegetation type and cover, soil type, spatiotemporal patterns of snow lie, the magnitude and frequency of freeze–thaw cycles, degree of exposure to winds and grazing by large herbivores. Soil moisture is a critical but frequently overlooked factor, as it has been shown to impact plant growth and—by extension—the ability of vegetation cover to retard erosion (Berdanier & Klein, 2011; Kemppinen et al, 2022). Drought is obviously stressful to plants (Grace, 1997), but variability in soil moisture levels (e.g., rapid cycling between soaked and parched conditions) can also lead to reduced growth and sparser cover (Kemppinen et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil moisture, stressed vegetation and the spatial structure of soil erosion in a high latitude rangeland

Cutler

Kodl

Streeter

et al. 2023

European J Soil Science

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Soil erosion has been a persistent problem in high‐latitude regions and may worsen as climate change unfolds and encourages increased anthropogenic exploitation. We propose that soil moisture is likely to shape future erosion trends, as moisture stress reduces the capacity of vegetation cover to retard erosive processes. However, the spatial variability of soil moisture in high‐latitude soils—and the ways in which this variability drives the spatial distribution of erosion features—is poorly understood. We addressed this knowledge gap with a study of andosol erosion in southern Iceland. Our study used a combination of high‐resolution (<3 cm) remote sensing data (using normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalised difference red edge as metrics of plant vitality) and long‐term, in situ measurements of soil moisture to unpick the relationship between moisture stress, vegetation vitality and patchy soil erosion. Mean NDVI increased with distance from eroded areas, varying from ~0.6 in vegetated areas on the margins of erosion patches to ~0.8 in areas >10 m from eroded terrain. We found lower moisture availability close to existing erosion features: mean volumetric soil moisture content varied from 17% (proximal to erosion patch) to 36% (distal to erosion patch). We also found that variability in soil moisture decreased with distance from eroded areas: the coefficient of variation (CV) in soil moisture varied from 0.33 (proximal to erosion patch) to 0.13 (distal to erosion). Our findings indicate that the margins of erosion patches have a stressful soil environment due to exposure to the atmosphere. The vegetation in these locations grows less vigorously, and the exposed soil becomes more vulnerable to erosion, leading to erosion patch expansion and coalescence. If these conditions hold more generally, they may represent a feedback mechanism that facilitates the lateral propagation of soil erosion in high‐latitude regions.

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Assessing the relation between geodiversity and species richness in mountain heaths and tundra landscapes

et al. 2023

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Context Recent studies show that geodiversity—the diversity of Earth's landforms, materials, and processes—has a positive relationship with biodiversity at a landscape scale. However, there is a substantial lack of evidence from finer scales, although this knowledge could improve the understanding of biodiversity patterns. Objectives We investigate whether plot-scale geodiversity and plant species richness (vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, and total richness) are positively linked in different tundra landscapes. Methods We collected geodiversity (presence of different geofeatures) and plant species richness data from 165 sites in three distinct regions: isolated low-lying mountain heaths, and in sporadic and continuous mountain heaths and tundra. We used non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination to explore the correlations between the composition of geofeatures and species richness, followed by univariate and multivariate generalized linear models (GLM), to assess whether georichness is important for species richness. Results Geofeature composition was linked to species richness in all regions, as indicated by NMDS ordination. Both univariate and multivariate GLM models showed statistically significant relationship between species richness and georichness in all studied species richness groups in continuous Arctic-alpine tundra. Additionally, there was a positive link between georichness and lichen richness in isolated boreal mountain tops. Main conclusions We showed that plot-scale geodiversity has a positive relationship with species richness, yet the effect varies regionally and between species groups. Our study provides strong empirical evidence that geodiversity supports species richness in continuous Arctic-alpine tundra. This information can be used in species richness models but also be applied in biodiversity management and conservation.

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Geomorphological processes shape plant community traits in the Arctic

Abstract: Aim: Geomorphological processes profoundly affect plant establishment and distributions, but their influence on functional traits is insufficiently understood. Here, we unveil trait-geomorphology relationships in Arctic plant communities.

Cited by 8 publications

References 94 publications

Local snow and fluvial conditions drive taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic plant diversity in tundra

Local snow and fluvial conditions drive taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic plant diversity in tundra

Soil moisture, stressed vegetation and the spatial structure of soil erosion in a high latitude rangeland

Assessing the relation between geodiversity and species richness in mountain heaths and tundra landscapes

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