articleScienceMay 14, 2020GREEN OA

Forest microclimate dynamics drive plant responses to warming

FZFlorian ZellwegerPDPieter De FrenneJLJonathan LenoirPVPieter VangansbekeKVKris Verheyen

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research · Conservation Leadership Programme · +28 more institutions

PubMed
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Abstract

Climate warming is causing a shift in biological communities in favor of warm-affinity species (i.e., thermophilization). Species responses often lag behind climate warming, but the reasons for such lags remain largely unknown. Here, we analyzed multidecadal understory microclimate dynamics in European forests and show that thermophilization and the climatic lag in forest plant communities are primarily controlled by microclimate. Increasing tree canopy cover reduces warming rates inside forests, but loss of canopy cover leads to increased local heat that exacerbates the disequilibrium between community responses and climate change. Reciprocal effects between plants and microclimates are key to understanding…

Citation impact

747
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FWCI
76.95
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100%
References
52
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Authors

34

Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Microclimate
  • Climate change
  • Ecology
  • Global warming
  • Environmental science
  • Ecosystem
  • Canopy
  • Environmental change
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