Advancing phenology is one of the most visible effects of climate change on plant communities, and has been especially pronounced in temperature-limited tundra ecosystems. However, phenological responses have been shown to differ greatly between species, with some species shifting phenology more than others. We analysed a database of 42,689 tundra plant phenological observations to show that warmer temperatures are leading to a contraction of community-level flowering seasons in tundra ecosystems due to a greater advancement in the flowering times of late-flowering species than early-flowering species. Shorter flowering seasons with a changing climate have the potential to alter trophic interactions in tundra ecosystems. Interestingly, these findings differ from those of warmer ecosystems, where early-flowering species have been found to be more sensitive to temperature change, suggesting that community-level phenological responses to warming can vary greatly between biomes.

Warming shortens flowering seasons of tundra plant communities

Cannone, Nicoletta;
2019-01-01

Abstract

Advancing phenology is one of the most visible effects of climate change on plant communities, and has been especially pronounced in temperature-limited tundra ecosystems. However, phenological responses have been shown to differ greatly between species, with some species shifting phenology more than others. We analysed a database of 42,689 tundra plant phenological observations to show that warmer temperatures are leading to a contraction of community-level flowering seasons in tundra ecosystems due to a greater advancement in the flowering times of late-flowering species than early-flowering species. Shorter flowering seasons with a changing climate have the potential to alter trophic interactions in tundra ecosystems. Interestingly, these findings differ from those of warmer ecosystems, where early-flowering species have been found to be more sensitive to temperature change, suggesting that community-level phenological responses to warming can vary greatly between biomes.
2019
www.nature.com/natecolevol/
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Ecology
Prevéy, Janet S.; Rixen, Christian; Rüger, Nadja; Høye, Toke T.; Bjorkman, Anne D.; Myers-Smith, Isla H.; Elmendorf, Sarah C.; Ashton, Isabel W.; Cannone, Nicoletta; Chisholm, Chelsea L.; Clark, Karin; Cooper, Elisabeth J.; Elberling, Bo; Fosaa, Anna Maria; Henry, Greg H. R.; Hollister, Robert D.; Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg Svala; Klanderud, Kari; Kopp, Christopher W.; Lévesque, Esther; Mauritz, Marguerite; Molau, Ulf; Natali, Susan M.; Oberbauer, Steven. F.; Panchen, Zoe A.; Post, Eric; Rumpf, Sabine B.; Schmidt, Niels Martin; Schuur, Edward; Semenchuk, Philipp R.; Smith, Jane G.; Suding, Katharine N.; Totland, Ørjan; Troxler, Tiffany; Venn, Susanna; Wahren, Carl-Henrik; Welker, Jeffrey M.; Wipf, Sonja
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11383/2077550
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