Global assessment of experimental climate warming on tundra vegetation: heterogeneity over space and time
University of British Columbia · Grand Valley State University · +33 more institutions
Abstract
Understanding the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate warming is critical to forecasting future biodiversity and vegetation feedbacks to climate. In situ warming experiments accelerate climate change on a small scale to forecast responses of local plant communities. Limitations of this approach include the apparent site-specificity of results and uncertainty about the power of short-term studies to anticipate longer term change. We address these issues with a synthesis of 61 experimental warming studies, of up to 20 years duration, in tundra sites worldwide. The response of plant groups to warming often differed with ambient summer temperature, soil moisture and experimental duration. Shrubs increased…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 37.91
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 90
Authors
46Topics & keywords
- Tundra
- Vegetation (pathology)
- Ecology
- Global warming
- Environmental science
- Climate change
- Climatology
- Geography