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Arctic shrub growth trajectories differ across soil moisture levels
Daniel Ackerman1, Daniel Griffin2, Sarah E Hobbie1
1Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA.
Global Change Biology
|March 8, 2017
Summary
Shrub expansion in arctic tundra impacts carbon and water cycles. This study shows Salix pulchra growth responds positively to warming, with mesic sites showing greater biomass increases under future climate scenarios.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Climate Science
- Arctic Studies
Background:
- Arctic tundra is experiencing shrub expansion, altering ecosystem properties like carbon balance and hydrology.
- Understanding landscape-scale patterns and drivers of shrub expansion is crucial for accurate climate modeling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of soil moisture in mediating the relationship between climate and growth for Salix pulchra.
- To develop improved models for climate-growth relationships in arctic shrubs.
- To estimate future shrub biomass changes under projected climate warming.
Main Methods:
- Dendroecology was used to analyze Salix pulchra growth on the North Slope of Alaska.
- Ecological theory guided the selection of climate-growth models.
- Shrub allometry models were employed to estimate biomass changes.
Main Results:
- Salix pulchra growth positively correlated with mean June temperature over the past 2.5 decades at both dry upland and mesic riparian sites.
- Upland sites showed diminishing growth returns with increasing temperature, while riparian sites exhibited consistent growth increases.
- A 2°C warming scenario predicts a 19% biomass increase at upland sites and 36% at riparian sites.
Conclusions:
- Soil moisture significantly influences the response of Salix pulchra growth to climate warming, with mesic habitats supporting greater temperature sensitivity.
- Contrasting responses between dry and mesic sites highlight the complexity of arctic shrub expansion.
- The dendroecology-based biomass estimation method advances the integration of ecological data into climate models.
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