Microclimate moderates plant responses to macroclimate warming
University of Cambridge · Ghent University · +24 more institutions
Abstract
Recent global warming is acting across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems to favor species adapted to warmer conditions and/or reduce the abundance of cold-adapted organisms (i.e., "thermophilization" of communities). Lack of community responses to increased temperature, however, has also been reported for several taxa and regions, suggesting that "climatic lags" may be frequent. Here we show that microclimatic effects brought about by forest canopy closure can buffer biotic responses to macroclimate warming, thus explaining an apparent climatic lag. Using data from 1,409 vegetation plots in European and North American temperate forests, each surveyed at least twice over an interval of 12-67 y, we…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 40.42
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 43
Authors
36Topics & keywords
- Microclimate
- Ecology
- Temperate rainforest
- Environmental science
- Global warming
- Temperate climate
- Biomass (ecology)
- Ecosystem
- Life below water