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Increased sensitivity to climate change in disturbed ecosystems.

György Kröel-Dulay1, Johannes Ransijn2, Inger Kappel Schmidt2

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Climate Change Biology
  • Ecosystem Dynamics

Background:

  • Human activities alter natural disturbance regimes, often leading ecosystems toward early-successional states.
  • Ecological theory posits that early-successional ecosystems are more vulnerable to perturbations than mature ones, but empirical evidence for climate change impacts is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the sensitivity of European shrubland vegetation to experimental warming and drought.
  • To determine if ecosystem successional state influences vegetation response to climate change.
  • To assess the temporal dynamics of ecosystem responses to climate perturbations.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted experiments involving moderate warming and drought treatments across seven European shrubland sites.
  • Monitored vegetation parameters including abundance, species richness, and species composition over 7-14 years.
  • Compared responses between recently disturbed and undisturbed ecosystem states.

Main Results:

  • Vegetation in most shrublands exhibited resistance to moderate warming and drought.
  • Responsiveness to treatments was linked to the ecosystem's dynamic state, with recently disturbed sites showing greater sensitivity.
  • Significant vegetation responses were observed over longer time scales (7-14 years) rather than rapidly (2-5 years).

Conclusions:

  • Ecosystem successional state is a critical factor modulating sensitivity to climate change.
  • Ecosystems undergoing recovery from disturbances may be particularly vulnerable to even modest climatic shifts.
  • Current research biases towards undisturbed systems may lead to an underestimation of climate change impacts on ecosystems.