The influence of herbivory on shrub expansion in the Scandes forest-tundra ecotone [PDF]
, 2016 Arctic and alpine ecosystems are experiencing fundamental changes in vegetation composition due to increasing temperatures. One of the most palpable of these changes is the expansion of shrubs on the treeless tundra, which has been reported from many sites throughout the Arctic.
Vowles, Tage
openaire +3 more sources
Carbon budget consequences of deciduous shrub expansion in alpine tundra ecosystems [PDF]
, 2018 Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems are important for global carbon sequestration, as they store more than half of the global soil carbon (C), and these systems are predicted to have the greatest soil C loss following climate warming. Deciduous shrub cover has increased in tundra ecosystems during recent decades, but herbivory can counteract this.
Sørensen, Mia Vedel
core +4 more sources
Late Pleistocene shrub expansion preceded megafauna turnover and extinctions in eastern Beringia. [PDF]
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2021 Significance Megafauna strongly influence vegetation structure, and population declines can alter ecosystem functioning. Overhunting of grazing megafauna is argued to have driven the collapse of widespread, northern steppe-tundra and its replacement by woody vegetation at the end of the ice age.
Monteath AJ +3 more
europepmc +5 more sources
The Dendrochronological Potential of Some Shrub Species in Mongolian Dry Steppe
Mongolian Journal of Biological Sciences, 2020 Shrub expansion has been widely documented in Northern Hemisphere due to the climate change and land use impacts. The findings of some studies show that shrub expansion greatly corresponds with changes in temperature and precipitation in Arctic, whereas ...
Nyamjav Javkhlan +2 more
doaj +1 more source
Arctic tundra shrubification: a review of mechanisms and impacts on ecosystem carbon balance
Environmental Research Letters, 2021 Vegetation composition shifts, and in particular, shrub expansion across the Arctic tundra are some of the most important and widely observed responses of high-latitude ecosystems to rapid climate warming.
Zelalem A Mekonnen +13 more
doaj +1 more source
Shrub growth and plant diversity along an elevation gradient: Evidence of indirect effects of climate on alpine ecosystems. [PDF]
PLoS ONE, 2018 Enhanced shrub growth and expansion are widespread responses to climate warming in many arctic and alpine ecosystems. Warmer temperatures and shrub expansion could cause major changes in plant community structure, affecting both species composition and ...
Francesco Boscutti +5 more
doaj +1 more source
The formation of the patterns of desert shrub communities on the Western Ordos Plateau, China: the roles of seed dispersal and sand burial. [PDF]
PLoS ONE, 2013 The western Ordos Plateau is a key area of shrub diversity and a National Nature Reserve of endangered shrub species in north-west China. Desert expansion is becoming the most important threat to these endangered species.
Yange Wang, Xiaohui Yang, Zhongjie Shi
doaj +1 more source
Expansion of tree and shrub plant species into undisturbed steppe phytocenoses
Journal of Native and Alien Plant Studies, 2021 The article is devoted to the study of tree and shrub plant species that spontaneously invasively colonize anthropogenically undisturbed steppe ecosystems. The species composition, number and biometric characteristics of tree and shrub plant species are determined.
I. I. Korshіkov +2 more
openaire +4 more sources
What are the main climate drivers for shrub growth in Northeastern Siberian tundra? [PDF]
, 2011 Deciduous shrubs are expected to rapidly expand in the Arctic during the coming decades due to climate warming. A transition towards more shrub-dominated tundra may have large implications for the regional surface energy balance, permafrost stability and
Berendse, F +17 more
core +2 more sources
Seasonal facilitative and competitive trade‐offs between shrub seedlings and coastal grasses
Ecosphere, 2020 Shrub expansion is occurring in grasslands globally and may be impacted by the balance of competition and facilitation with existing grasses. Along the mid‐Atlantic and Gulf coasts, the native shrub Morella cerifera (wax myrtle) is rapidly expanding and ...
Michael N. Sinclair +2 more
doaj +1 more source