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High Arctic plant community resists 15 years of experimental warming
Author(s) -
Hudson James M. G.,
Henry Greg H. R.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.452
H-Index - 181
eISSN - 1365-2745
pISSN - 0022-0477
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2010.01690.x
Subject(s) - evergreen , tundra , shrub , environmental science , plant community , climate change , vegetation (pathology) , vascular plant , ecology , arctic vegetation , global warming , plant cover , arctic , physical geography , canopy , geography , ecological succession , biology , species richness , medicine , pathology
Summary 1. Identifying plant communities that are resistant to climate change will be critical for developing accurate, wide‐scale vegetation change predictions. Most northern plant communities, especially tundra, have shown strong responses to experimental and observed warming. 2. Experimental warming is a key tool for understanding vegetation responses to climate change. We used open‐top chambers to passively warm an evergreen‐shrub heath by 1.0–1.3 °C for 15 years at Alexandra Fiord, Nunavut, Canada (79 °N). In 1996, 2000 and 2007, we measured height, plant composition and abundance with a point‐intercept method. 3. Experimental warming did not strongly affect vascular plant cover, canopy height or species diversity, but it did increase bryophyte cover by 6.3% and decrease lichen cover by 3.5%. Temporal changes in plant cover were more frequent and of greater magnitude than changes due to experimental warming. 4. Synthesis. This evergreen‐shrub heath continues to exhibit community‐level resistance to long‐term experimental warming, in contrast to most Arctic plant communities. Our findings support the view that only substantial climatic changes will alter unproductive ecosystems.