Plant functional traits mediate reproductive phenology and success in response to experimental warming and snow addition in Tibet

• DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12059
• Publication Date: 2012-10-20T08:26:10Z
• Authors: Tsechoe Dorji; Ørjan Totland; Stein R. Moe; Kelly A. Hopping; Jianbin Pan; Julia A. Klein
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; 2. Zero hunger; 13. Climate action; Climate; Reproduction; Snow; 15. Life on land; Tibet; 01 natural sciences; Plant Physiological Phenomena

Global climate change is predicted to have large impacts on the phenology and reproduction of alpine plants, which will important implications for plant demography community interactions, trophic dynamics, ecosystem energy balance, human livelihoods. In this article we report results a 3-year, fully factorial experimental study exploring how warming, snow addition, their combination affect reproductive phenology, effort, success four species belonging three different life forms in semiarid, meadow central Tibetan Plateau. Our indicate that warming addition success, but responses are not uniform across species. Moreover, traits associated with resource acquisition, such as rooting depth history (early vs. late flowering), mediate changing climatic conditions. Specifically, found delayed decreased number inflorescences Kobresia pygmaea C. B. Clarke, shallow-rooted, early-flowering plant, may be mainly constrained by upper-soil moisture availability. Because K. dominant ecosystem, these dynamics pastoralists wildlife region.