Growth and community responses of alpine dwarf shrubs to in situ CO2 enrichment and soil warming

• DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03722.x
• Publication Date: 2011-04-20T11:55:20Z
• Authors: Melissa A. Dawes; Frank Hagedorn; Thomas Zumbrunn; Ira Tanya Handa; Stephan Hättensch...; Sonja Wipf; Christian Rixen
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; 13. Climate action; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences

• Rising CO2 concentrations and the associated global warming are expected to have large impacts on high-elevation ecosystems, yet long-term multifactor experiments in these environments rare. We investigated how growth of dominant dwarf shrub species (Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium gaultherioides Empetrum hermaphroditum) community composition understorey larch pine trees responded 9 yr enrichment 3 soil at treeline Swiss Alps. myrtillus was only that showed a clear positive effect growth, with no decline over time annual shoot response. Soil stimulated V. even more than elevated accompanied by increased plant-available nitrogen (N) leaf N concentrations. Growth E. hermaphroditum not influenced warming. Vascular plant richness declined plots larch, while number moss lichen decreased under Ongoing environmental change could lead less diverse communities dominance particularly responsive studied alpine treeline. These changes consequence independent effects, result should facilitate predictive modelling approaches.