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Shrub facilitation promotes selective tree establishment beyond the climatic treeline
Jianguo Chen1, Yang Yang2, Songwei Wang3
1Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China; Department of Environmental Systems Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Universitätstrasse 2, Zurich 8092, Switzerland.
The Science of the Total Environment
|December 3, 2019
Summary
Ecosystem engineers like Rhododendron rupicola shrubs facilitate upward treeline migration by improving microclimates. This shrub-mediated facilitation enhances tree seedling survival and growth beyond current climatic limits.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Climate Change Biology
- Plant Ecology
Background:
- Alpine treelines are shifting upward due to climate warming.
- Ecological interactions, particularly those involving ecosystem engineers, can mediate treeline migration.
- Shrubs can modify microscale environments, influencing species establishment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how Rhododendron rupicola, an ecosystem engineer, modifies microenvironments.
- To determine the influence of R. rupicola on the establishment and performance of Larix potaninii and Picea likiangensis seedlings.
- To assess the role of biotic interactions in facilitating upward treeline shifts.
Main Methods:
- A three-year seedling transplant experiment was conducted at the alpine treeline ecotone in southwest China.
- Seedlings were transplanted to various elevations, including above the current treeline, with and without R. rupicola.
- Microclimatic conditions, soil properties, root-associated fungi, and seedling survival, growth, and nutrient accumulation were monitored.
Main Results:
- R. rupicola increased soil moisture and nutrients, buffered temperature, and altered fungal communities.
- Tree seedlings under shrubs showed significantly higher survival, growth, and nutrient accumulation compared to open-ground seedlings.
- Shrub facilitation was crucial for seedling survival above the treeline, with species-specific effects observed.
Conclusions:
- Shrubs act as crucial "stepping stones" for tree establishment beyond current treeline limits by ameliorating environmental conditions.
- Biotic interactions, mediated by ecosystem engineers, can significantly alter treeline species composition and accelerate upward migration.
- This highlights the importance of considering ecological interactions in predicting treeline responses to climate warming.
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