Variations in ramet performance and the dynamics of an alpine evergreen herb,<i>Gentiana nipponica</i>, in different snowmelt conditions

Kawai, Yuka; Kudo, Gaku

doi:10.1002/ajb2.1186

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…In a 31-year-long phenology study in the Rocky Mountains, Inouye (2008) found a higher degree of frost damage after early snowmelt. Number of flowers, leaf growth and survival of the evergreen forb Gentiana nipponica were significantly reduced in populations with 1-month earlier snowmelt (Kawai and Kudo 2018). However, occasional frost damages do not necessarily cause a population decline, given that these taxa are all long lived and, to variable degree, clonal.…”

Section: The Role Of Snowmelt and Microclimatementioning

confidence: 94%

Flowering phenology in alpine grassland strongly responds to shifts in snowmelt but weakly to summer drought

et al. 2021

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Alpine plants complete their seasonal phenological cycle during two to three snow-free months. Under climate change, snowmelt advances and the risk of summer droughts increases. Yet, photoperiodism may prevent alpine plants from benefiting from an earlier start of the growing season. To identify the drivers of flowering phenology in the seven main species of an alpine grassland, we experimentally shifted the snowmelt date through snow manipulations, and excluded precipitation during summer. With “time-to-event” models, we analysed the beginning of main flowering with respect to temperature sums, time after snowmelt, and calendar day (photoperiod). We identified two phenology types: four species tracking snowmelt dates directly or with a certain lag set by temperature sums, including the dominant sedge Carex curvula, Anthoxanthum alpinum Helictotrichon versicolor, and Trifolium alpinum, and three species tracking photoperiod: Geum montanum, Leontodon helveticus and Potentilla aurea. Photoperiodism did not act as daylength threshold but rather modulated the thermal sums at flowering. Hence, photoperiod delayed flowering after earlier snowmelt. The grass A. alpinum was the only one of seven species that clearly responded to drought by earlier and longer flowering. The remarkably high importance of snowmelt dates for both phenology types suggests an earlier onset of flowering in a warmer climate, particularly for non-photoperiod-sensitive species, with an increasing risk for freezing damages and potential disruptions of biotic interactions in the most frequent type of alpine grassland across the Alps. Consequentially, the distinct microclimate and species-specific responses to photoperiod challenge temperature-only based projections of climate warming effects on alpine plant species.

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Section: The Role Of Snowmelt and Microclimatementioning

confidence: 94%

Flowering phenology in alpine grassland strongly responds to shifts in snowmelt but weakly to summer drought

et al. 2021

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“…A one-month earlier snowmelt may expand the alpine growing season by more than one third by the end of the century (RCP8.5), most likely with drastic consequences for alpine plants. These may include lower flower numbers, reduced leaf growth and a lower survival, as observed for the evergreen forb Gentiana nipponica by a one-month earlier snowmelt (Kawai and Kudo 2018), and snowbed species produced less seeds after an earlier snowmelt of 18 days (Tonin et al 2019). According to an experiment with 23 nival and alpine species, it is assumed that one third to one half the alpine flora may be sensitive to photoperiod and hence may not profit from a longer growing season because of too short daylengths (Keller and Körner 2003).…”

Section: Consequences For Alpine Plantsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Past and future snowmelt trends in the Swiss Alps: the role of temperature and snowpack

Vorkauf¹,

Marty²,

Kahmen³

et al. 2021

Climatic Change

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The start of the growing season for alpine plants is primarily determined by the date of snowmelt. We analysed time series of snow depth at 23 manually operated and 15 automatic (IMIS) stations between 1055 and 2555 m asl in the Swiss Central Alps. Between 1958 and 2019, snowmelt dates occurred 2.8 ± 1.3 days earlier in the year per decade, with a strong shift towards earlier snowmelt dates during the late 1980s and early 1990s, but non-significant trends thereafter. Snowmelt dates at high-elevation automatic stations strongly correlated with snowmelt dates at lower-elevation manual stations. At all elevations, snowmelt dates strongly depended on spring air temperatures. More specifically, 44% of the variance in snowmelt dates was explained by the first day when a three-week running mean of daily air temperatures passed a 5 °C threshold. The mean winter snow depth accounted for 30% of the variance. We adopted the effects of air temperature and snowpack height to Swiss climate change scenarios to explore likely snowmelt trends throughout the twenty-first century. Under a high-emission scenario (RCP8.5), we simulated snowmelt dates to advance by 6 days per decade by the end of the century. By then, snowmelt dates could occur one month earlier than during the reference periods (1990–2019 and 2000–2019). Such early snowmelt may extend the alpine growing season by one third of its current duration while exposing alpine plants to shorter daylengths and adding a higher risk of freezing damage.

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“…Spatial heterogeneity, even at a relatively small scale, can produce a similar level of demographic variation within a continuous population as that between populations (Fowler & Antonovics, 1981; Horvitz & Schemske, 1995). Local scale demographic variation has been documented along the environmental gradient within populations for several plant species (Kawai & Kudo, 2018; Vega & Montaña, 2004). Local snowmelt gradients in alpine ecosystems are a crucial environmental factor responsible for diverse plant communities at the local scale (Hülber et al, 2011; Kudo & Ito, 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The distributions of alpine plant species are primarily determined by the spatial heterogeneity of environmental conditions, such as snowmelt time, soil moisture, land surface stability, nutritional conditions and geological properties (Nagy & Grabherr, 2009). In particular, the spatial heterogeneity of snowmelt time, which determines the growing season length, is a crucial factor that affects the distribution pattern (Hülber, Bardy, & Dullinger, 2011; Kudo & Ito, 1992; Litaor, Williams, & Seastedt, 2008), flowering phenology (CaraDonna, Iler, & Inouye, 2014; Kudo, 2016), leaf physiology (Choler, 2005; Kudo, Nordenhäll, & Molau, 1999; Wheeler et al, 2014), reproductive output (Gezon, Inouye, & Irwin, 2016; Kudo & Hirao, 2006; Lluent, Anadon‐Rosell, Ninot, Grau, & Carrillo, 2013; Moriwaki, Takyu, & Kameyama, 2020) and demographic parameters of alpine plants (Campbell, 2019; Hülber et al, 2011; Kawai & Kudo, 2018). Therefore, snowmelt time advancement due to global warming may lead to changes in population dynamics, distribution shifts and/or the local extinction of alpine plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Various demographic parameters affect the persistence of local populations, such as the growth, mortality and fecundity of plants (Silvertown & Lovett‐Doust, 1993). The demographic parameters of alpine plants may vary among local populations in response to snowmelt conditions (Kawai & Kudo, 2018). Consequently, the predicted response of local alpine plant populations to advancing snowmelt times is a crucial issue in global change biology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate change shifts population structure and demographics of an alpine herb,Anemone narcissiflora ssp. sachalinensis(Ranunculaceae), along a snowmelt gradient

Kawai

Kudo

2021

Population Ecology

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Alpine ecosystems, characterized by cold climates and short growing seasons, are thought to be most vulnerable to climate change. Warmer temperatures and earlier snowmelt extend the growing season length and increase drought stress for alpine plants, resulting in changes to their distribution. Anemone narcissiflora ssp. sachalinensis is a perennial herb that grows in the alpine snow‐meadows of northern Japan. In the last few decades, its distribution has shifted toward later snowmelt habitat in the Taisetsu Mountains of Hokkaido. We recorded demographic data for this species at early, middle and late snowmelt habitats over four years (2009–2012), and constructed transition matrix models to evaluate how demographic parameters and population growth rate vary between local habitats along a snowmelt gradient. The proportion of reproductive plants was low and seed production was limited in the early snowmelt habitat, with drier soil conditions, in comparison to the middle and late snowmelt habitats, with moist soil conditions. Evidence of the transition from small plants to those in the reproductive stage was limited in the early snowmelt habitat, suggesting that growth was inhibited; the local population in this habitat was estimated to be sustained by seed migration from later snowmelt habitats. These results indicate that advancing snowmelt under climate change may decrease the reproductive activity and population growth rate of snow‐meadow plants if seed migration from later snowmelt populations is limited, resulting in the extinction of local populations.

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Variations in ramet performance and the dynamics of an alpine evergreen herb,Gentiana nipponica, in different snowmelt conditions

Cited by 6 publications

References 47 publications

Flowering phenology in alpine grassland strongly responds to shifts in snowmelt but weakly to summer drought

Flowering phenology in alpine grassland strongly responds to shifts in snowmelt but weakly to summer drought

Past and future snowmelt trends in the Swiss Alps: the role of temperature and snowpack

Climate change shifts population structure and demographics of an alpine herb,Anemone narcissiflora ssp. sachalinensis(Ranunculaceae), along a snowmelt gradient

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