Plants in a warmer world

Walther, Gian‐Reto

doi:10.1078/1433-8319-00076

Cited by 401 publications

(334 citation statements)

References 184 publications

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“…An implication of this altitude-for-latitude temperature model is that general biogeographical patterns resulting from the climatic limitations imposed on plants in mountains should also be observed in neighbouring lowland regions with similar temperature and moisture regimes. Distributional shifts already observed in mountain plants [8,[16][17][18] should, therefore, be mirrored by lowland range changes occurring over distances that are several orders of magnitude larger ( Figure 1). …”

Section: Climate Change and Shifting Plant Distributionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Contemporary plant range shifts are most frequently reported from mountain regions, with elevational shifts of the mountain treeline being the most commonly documented response to increasing temperatures [8][9][10][11][12]. The distributions of species in mountain regions are typically restricted to relatively narrow and well-delineated altitudinal bands, in comparison with often broad and poorly defined latitudinal distributions in the lowlands.…”

Section: Climate Change and Shifting Plant Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent changes in the distribution of plant species in mountains have been reported for various plant species, from tropical epiphytes [3], alpine plant species [17] and forest understory plants [18], to shrubs and trees [3,4,12,26,27]. Mountain treelines have shifted upwards, commonly by up to 130 m, over the past 50 years [8].…”

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Investigation of mountain range shifts has been biased towards woody plants and the upward or leading edge of the distribution of species [8,16]. However, an increasing number of reports demonstrate that retraction of the trailing edge of the distribution of various woody species is now underway in mountains worldwide [3,4,12,[26][27][28][29].…”

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Minimum temperatures are particularly important in limiting the poleward (see Glossary) expansion of plant species, whereas limited water availability interacts with high temperatures to exert a direct climatic limitation on their expansion in the opposite, or equatorial, direction in many regions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Changes in climate are, therefore, predicted to alter the geographic distribution of plant species at global to local scales.Contemporary plant range shifts are most frequently reported from mountain regions, with elevational shifts of the mountain treeline being the most commonly documented response to increasing temperatures [8][9][10][11][12]. The distributions of species in mountain regions are typically restricted to relatively narrow and well-delineated altitudinal bands, in comparison with often broad and poorly defined latitudinal distributions in the lowlands.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The altitude-for-latitude disparity in the range retractions of woody species

Jump

Mátyás

Peñuelas

2009

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

436

369

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Increasing temperatures are driving rapid upward range shifts of species in mountains. An altitudinal range retreat of 10 m is predicted to translate into a $10-km latitudinal retreat based on the rate at which temperatures decline with increasing altitude and latitude, yet reports of latitudinal range retractions are sparse. Here, we examine potential climatic, biological, anthropogenic and methodological explanations for this disparity. We argue that the lack of reported latitudinal range retractions stems more from a lack of research effort, compounded by methodological difficulties, rather than from their absence. Given the predicted negative impacts of increasing temperatures on wide areas of the latitudinal distributions of species, the investigation of range retractions should become a priority in biogeographical research.Climate change and shifting plant distribution The geographical distribution of plants is strongly influenced by climate [1]. Minimum temperatures are particularly important in limiting the poleward (see Glossary) expansion of plant species, whereas limited water availability interacts with high temperatures to exert a direct climatic limitation on their expansion in the opposite, or equatorial, direction in many regions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Changes in climate are, therefore, predicted to alter the geographic distribution of plant species at global to local scales.Contemporary plant range shifts are most frequently reported from mountain regions, with elevational shifts of the mountain treeline being the most commonly documented response to increasing temperatures [8][9][10][11][12]. The distributions of species in mountain regions are typically restricted to relatively narrow and well-delineated altitudinal bands, in comparison with often broad and poorly defined latitudinal distributions in the lowlands. This strong altitudinal zonation of mountain vegetation, and its climatic sensitivity [13], makes mountains ideal 'natural laboratories' and favoured locations for the study of climate change impacts worldwide [13][14][15].The altitudinal compression of montane vegetation zones is due to a rapid decrease in temperature with increasing elevation ($5-6.5 8C per 1000 m) [3,14], which contrasts with a similar temperature decline occurring over $1000 km of latitude (6.9 8C at 458 N or S) [3]. An implication of this altitude-for-latitude temperature model is that general biogeographical patterns resulting from the climatic limitations imposed on plants in mountains should also be observed in neighbouring lowland regions with similar temperature and moisture regimes. Distributional shifts already observed in mountain plants [8,[16][17][18] should, therefore, be mirrored by lowland range changes occurring over distances that are several orders of magnitude larger (Figure 1).Here, we discuss the implications of the altitude-forlatitude model for shifts in plant distributions and examine why lowland range shifts, particularly range retractions, are rarely reported. We discuss potential climati...

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Section: Climate Change and Shifting Plant Distributionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Climate Change and Shifting Plant Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Glossarymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The altitude-for-latitude disparity in the range retractions of woody species

Jump

Mátyás

Peñuelas

2009

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

436

369

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A 170 year spring phenology index of plants in eastern China

Wang

Zheng

et al. 2014

JGR Biogeosciences

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Extending phenological records into the past is essential for the understanding of past ecological change and evaluating the effects of climate change on ecosystems. A growing body of historical phenological information is now available for Europe, North America, and Asia. In East Asia, long-term phenological series are still relatively scarce. This study extracted plant phenological observations from old diaries in the period 1834-1962. A spring phenology index (SPI) for the modern period ) was defined as the mean flowering time of three shrubs (first flowering of Amygdalus davidiana and Cercis chinensis, 50% of full flowering of Paeonia suffruticosa) according to the data availability. Applying calibrated transfer functions from the modern period to the historical data, we reconstructed a continuous SPI time series across eastern China from 1834 to 2009. In the recent 30 years, the SPI is 2.1-6.3 days earlier than during any other consecutive 30 year period before 1970. A moving linear trend analysis shows that the advancing trend of SPI over the past three decades reaches upward of 4.1 d/decade, which exceeds all previously observed trends in the past 30 year period. In addition, the SPI series correlates significantly with spring (February to April) temperatures in the study area, with an increase in spring temperature of 1°C inducing an earlier SPI by 3.1 days. These shifts of SPI provide important information regarding regional vegetation-climate relationships, and they are helpful to assess long term of climate change impacts on biophysical systems and biodiversity.

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