1
|
Shen H, Dai Z, Zhang Q, Tong D, Su WQ, Dahlgren RA, Xu J. Postfire Phosphorus Enrichment Mitigates Nitrogen Loss in Boreal Forests. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:10611-10622. [PMID: 38836563 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c01662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
Net nitrogen mineralization (Nmin) and nitrification regulate soil N availability and loss after severe wildfires in boreal forests experiencing slow vegetation recovery. Yet, how microorganisms respond to postfire phosphorus (P) enrichment to alter soil N transformations remains unclear in N-limited boreal forests. Here, we investigated postfire N-P interactions using an intensive regional-scale sampling of 17 boreal forests in the Greater Khingan Mountains (Inner Mongolia-China), a laboratory P-addition incubation, and a continental-scale meta-analysis. We found that postfire soils had an increased risk of N loss by accelerated Nmin and nitrification along with low plant N demand, especially during the early vegetation recovery period. The postfire N/P imbalance created by P enrichment acts as a "N retention" strategy by inhibiting Nmin but not nitrification in boreal forests. This strategy is attributed to enhanced microbial N-use efficiency and N immobilization. Importantly, our meta-analysis found that there was a greater risk of N loss in boreal forest soils after fires than in other climatic zones, which was consistent with our results from the 17 soils in the Greater Khingan Mountains. These findings demonstrate that postfire N-P interactions play an essential role in mitigating N limitation and maintaining nutrient balance in boreal forests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Haojie Shen
- Institute of Soil and Water Resources and Environmental Science, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Zhongmin Dai
- Institute of Soil and Water Resources and Environmental Science, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
- The Rural Development Academy, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Qianqian Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
| | - Di Tong
- Institute of Soil and Water Resources and Environmental Science, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Wei-Qin Su
- Institute of Soil and Water Resources and Environmental Science, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Randy A Dahlgren
- Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, California 95616, United States
| | - Jianming Xu
- Institute of Soil and Water Resources and Environmental Science, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou 310058, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Jones BM, Kanevskiy MZ, Shur Y, Gaglioti BV, Jorgenson MT, Ward Jones MK, Veremeeva A, Miller EA, Jandt R. Post-fire stabilization of thaw-affected permafrost terrain in northern Alaska. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8499. [PMID: 38605076 PMCID: PMC11009396 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58998-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
In 2007, the Anaktuvuk River fire burned more than 1000 km2 of arctic tundra in northern Alaska, ~ 50% of which occurred in an area with ice-rich syngenetic permafrost (Yedoma). By 2014, widespread degradation of ice wedges was apparent in the Yedoma region. In a 50 km2 area, thaw subsidence was detected across 15% of the land area in repeat airborne LiDAR data acquired in 2009 and 2014. Updating observations with a 2021 airborne LiDAR dataset show that additional thaw subsidence was detected in < 1% of the study area, indicating stabilization of the thaw-affected permafrost terrain. Ground temperature measurements between 2010 and 2015 indicated that the number of near-surface soil thawing-degree-days at the burn site were 3 × greater than at an unburned control site, but by 2022 the number was reduced to 1.3 × greater. Mean annual ground temperature of the near-surface permafrost increased by 0.33 °C/yr in the burn site up to 7-years post-fire, but then cooled by 0.15 °C/yr in the subsequent eight years, while temperatures at the control site remained relatively stable. Permafrost cores collected from ice-wedge troughs (n = 41) and polygon centers (n = 8) revealed the presence of a thaw unconformity, that in most cases was overlain by a recovered permafrost layer that averaged 14.2 cm and 18.3 cm, respectively. Taken together, our observations highlight that the initial degradation of ice-rich permafrost following the Anaktuvuk River tundra fire has been followed by a period of thaw cessation, permafrost aggradation, and terrain stabilization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M Jones
- Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA.
| | - Mikhail Z Kanevskiy
- Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Yuri Shur
- College of Engineering and Mines, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Benjamin V Gaglioti
- Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | | | - Melissa K Ward Jones
- Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| | - Alexandra Veremeeva
- Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Eric A Miller
- Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service, Fort Wainwright, AK, 99703, USA
| | - Randi Jandt
- Alaska Fire Science Consortium, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Taylor CR, England LC, Keane JB, Davies JAC, Leake JR, Hartley IP, Smart SM, Janes-Bassett V, Phoenix GK. Elevated CO 2 interacts with nutrient inputs to restructure plant communities in phosphorus-limited grasslands. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17104. [PMID: 38273555 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Globally pervasive increases in atmospheric CO2 and nitrogen (N) deposition could have substantial effects on plant communities, either directly or mediated by their interactions with soil nutrient limitation. While the direct consequences of N enrichment on plant communities are well documented, potential interactions with rising CO2 and globally widespread phosphorus (P) limitation remain poorly understood. We investigated the consequences of simultaneous elevated CO2 (eCO2 ) and N and P additions on grassland biodiversity, community and functional composition in P-limited grasslands. We exposed soil-turf monoliths from limestone and acidic grasslands that have received >25 years of N additions (3.5 and 14 g m-2 year-1 ) and 11 (limestone) or 25 (acidic) years of P additions (3.5 g m-2 year-1 ) to eCO2 (600 ppm) for 3 years. Across both grasslands, eCO2 , N and P additions significantly changed community composition. Limestone communities were more responsive to eCO2 and saw significant functional shifts resulting from eCO2 -nutrient interactions. Here, legume cover tripled in response to combined eCO2 and P additions, and combined eCO2 and N treatments shifted functional dominance from grasses to sedges. We suggest that eCO2 may disproportionately benefit P acquisition by sedges by subsidising the carbon cost of locally intense root exudation at the expense of co-occurring grasses. In contrast, the functional composition of the acidic grassland was insensitive to eCO2 and its interactions with nutrient additions. Greater diversity of P-acquisition strategies in the limestone grassland, combined with a more functionally even and diverse community, may contribute to the stronger responses compared to the acidic grassland. Our work suggests we may see large changes in the composition and biodiversity of P-limited grasslands in response to eCO2 and its interactions with nutrient loading, particularly where these contain a high diversity of P-acquisition strategies or developmentally young soils with sufficient bioavailable mineral P.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R Taylor
- Soil and Ecosystem Ecology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Luke C England
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - J Ben Keane
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- Department of Environment and Geography, Wentworth Way, University of York, Heslington, York, UK
| | | | - Jonathan R Leake
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Iain P Hartley
- Geography, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Victoria Janes-Bassett
- Geography and Planning, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Gareth K Phoenix
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Abstract
Arctic shrub expansion alters carbon budgets, albedo, and warming rates in high latitudes but remains challenging to predict due to unclear underlying controls. Observational studies and models typically use relationships between observed shrub presence and current environmental suitability (bioclimate and topography) to predict shrub expansion, while omitting shrub demographic processes and non-stationary response to changing climate. Here, we use high-resolution satellite imagery across Alaska and western Canada to show that observed shrub expansion has not been controlled by environmental suitability during 1984-2014, but can only be explained by considering seed dispersal and fire. These findings provide the impetus for better observations of recruitment and for incorporating currently underrepresented processes of seed dispersal and fire in land models to project shrub expansion and climate feedbacks. Integrating these dynamic processes with projected fire extent and climate, we estimate shrubs will expand into 25% of the non-shrub tundra by 2100, in contrast to 39% predicted based on increasing environmental suitability alone. Thus, using environmental suitability alone likely overestimates and misrepresents shrub expansion pattern and its associated carbon sink.
Collapse
|
5
|
N/P Addition Is More Likely Than N Addition Alone to Promote a Transition from Moss-Dominated to Graminoid-Dominated Tundra in the High-Arctic. ATMOSPHERE 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos13050676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Nutrient availability for tundra vegetation could change drastically due to increasing temperatures and frequency of nitrogen deposition in the Arctic. Few studies have simultaneously examined the response of plant communities to these two pressures over a long period. This study aims to assess which driver between increasing nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability through global warming and increasing N availability alone via N deposition is more likely to transform arctic wetland vegetation and whether there is a time lag in this response. An annual fertilization experiment simulating these nutrient inputs was conducted for 17 years in the Canadian High-Arctic to assess the impact on aboveground net primary productivity, floristic composition, and plant nutrient concentration. While the primary productivity of mosses remains unchanged by fertilization after 17 years, productivity of graminoids was increased slightly by N addition (36% increase at the highest dose). In contrast, the primary productivity of graminoids increased strongly with N/P addition (over 227% increase). We noted no difference in graminoid productivity between the 2nd and 5th year of the experiment, but we observed a 203% increase between the 5th and 17th year in the N/P addition treatments. We also noted a 49% decrease in the total moss cover and an 155% increase in the total graminoid cover between the 2nd and 17th year of N/P addition. These results indicate that the impact of warming through increased N/P availability was greater than those of N deposition alone (N addition) and promoted the transition from a moss-dominated tundra to a graminoid-dominated tundra. However, this transition was subject to a time lag of up to 17 years, suggesting that increased productivity of graminoids resulted from a release of nutrients via the decomposition of lower parts of the moss mat.
Collapse
|
6
|
Steketee JK, Rocha AV, Gough L, Griffin KL, Klupar I, An R, Williamson N, Rowe RJ. Small herbivores with big impacts: Tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus) alter post-fire ecosystem dynamics. Ecology 2022; 103:e3689. [PMID: 35324006 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Fire is an important ecological disturbance that can reset ecosystems and initiate changes in plant community composition, ecosystem biogeochemistry, and primary productivity. Since herbivores rely on primary producers for food, changes in vegetation may alter plant-herbivore interactions with important - but often unexplored - feedbacks to ecosystems. Here we examined the impact of post-fire changes in plant community composition and structure on habitat suitability and rodent herbivore activity in response to a large, severe, and unprecedented fire in northern Alaskan tundra. In moist acidic tundra where the fire occurred, tundra voles (Microtus oeconomus) are the dominant herbivore and rely on the tussock forming sedge Eriophorum vaginatum for both food and nesting material. Seven to twelve years after the fire, tundra voles were 10 times more abundant at the burned site compared to nearby unburned tundra. Fire increased habitat suitability for voles by increasing plant productivity and biomass, food quality, and cover through both taller vegetation and increased microtopography. As a result of elevated vole abundance, Eriophorum mortality caused by vole herbivory was two orders of magnitude higher than natural mortality and approached the magnitude of the mortality rate resulting directly from the fire. These findings suggest that post-fire increases in herbivore pressure on Eriophorum could, in turn, disrupt graminoid recovery and enhance shrub encroachment. Tundra state transitions from graminoid to shrub dominated are also evident following other disturbances and fertilization experiments, suggesting that as Arctic temperatures rise, greater available nutrients and increased frequencies of large-scale disturbances may also alter plant-animal interactions with cascading impacts on plant communities and ecosystem function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jess K Steketee
- Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, 114 James Hall, 56 College Road, Durham, NH, USA
| | - Adrian V Rocha
- Department of Biological Sciences and the Environmental Change Initiative, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Laura Gough
- Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, USA
| | - Kevin L Griffin
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA.,Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
| | - Ian Klupar
- Department of Biological Sciences and the Environmental Change Initiative, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Ruby An
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
| | - Nicole Williamson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, USA
| | - Rebecca J Rowe
- Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, 114 James Hall, 56 College Road, Durham, NH, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Xu W, Elberling B, Ambus PL. Fire increases soil nitrogen retention and alters nitrogen uptake patterns among dominant shrub species in an Arctic dry heath tundra. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 807:150990. [PMID: 34656575 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Climate change increases the frequency and severity of fire in the Arctic tundra regions. We assessed effects of fire in combination with summer warming on soil biogeochemical N- and P cycles with a focus on mineral N over two years following an experimental fire in a dry heath tundra, West Greenland. We applied stable isotopes (15NH4+-N and 15NO3--N) to trace the post-fire mineral N pools. The partitioning of 15N in the bulk soils, soil dissolved organic N (TDN), microbes and plants (roots and leaves) was established. The fire tended to increase microbial P pools by four-fold at both one and two years after the fire. Two years after the fire, the bulk soil 15N recovery has decreased to 10.4% in unburned plots while relatively high recovery was maintained (30%) in burned plots, suggesting an increase in soil N retention after the fire. The contribution of microbial 15N recovery to bulk soil 15N recovery increased from 11.2% at 21 days to 31.5% two years after the fire, suggesting that higher post-fire N retention was due largely to the increased incorporation of N into microbial biomass. Fire also increased 15N recovery in bulk roots after one and two years, but only under summer warming. This suggests that higher retention of post-fire N can strongly increase the potential for N uptake of recovering plants under a future warmer climate. There was significantly lower 15N enrichment of Betula nana leaves while higher 15N enrichment of Vaccinium uliginosum leaves (after three years) in burned than control plots. This shows that fire can alter the N uptake differently among dominant shrub species in this tundra ecosystem, and implies that wildfires may change plant species composition in the longer term.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wenyi Xu
- Center for Permafrost, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark.
| | - Bo Elberling
- Center for Permafrost, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - Per Lennart Ambus
- Center for Permafrost, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Chen Y, Kelly R, Genet H, Lara MJ, Chipman ML, McGuire AD, Hu FS. Resilience and sensitivity of ecosystem carbon stocks to fire-regime change in Alaskan tundra. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 806:151482. [PMID: 34742811 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Fire disturbance has increased in some tundra ecosystems due to anthropogenic climate change, with important ramifications for terrestrial carbon cycling. Assessment of the potential impact of fire-regime change on tundra carbon stocks requires long-term perspectives because tundra fires have been rare historically. Here we integrated the process-based Dynamic Organic Soil version of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Model with paleo-fire records to evaluate the responses of tundra carbon stocks to changes in fire return interval (FRI). Paleorecords reveal that mean FRIs of tundra ecosystems in Alaska ranged from centennial to millennial timescales (200-6000 years) during the late Quaternary, but projected FRIs by 2100 decrease to a few hundred years to several decades (70-660 years). Our simulations indicate threshold effects of changing FRIs on tundra carbon stocks. Shortening FRI from 5000 to 1000 years results in minimal carbon release (<5%) from Alaskan tundra ecosystems. Rapid carbon stock loss occurs when FRI declines below 800 years trigger sustained mobilization of ancient carbon stocks from permafrost soils. However, substantial spatial heterogeneity in the resilience/sensitivity of tundra carbon stocks to FRI change exists, largely attributable to vegetation types. We identified the carbon stocks in shrub tundra as the most vulnerable to decreasing FRI because shrub tundra stores a large share of carbon in combustible biomass and organic soils. Moreover, our results suggest that ecosystems characterized by large carbon stocks and relatively long FRIs (e.g. Brooks Foothills) may transition towards hotspots of permafrost carbon emission as a response to crossing FRI thresholds in the coming decades. These findings combined imply that fire disturbance may play an increasingly important role in future carbon balance of tundra ecosystems, but the net outcome may be strongly modulated by vegetation composition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yaping Chen
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Ryan Kelly
- UNC Health Care System, 1025 Think Place, Morrisville, NC, USA
| | - Hélène Genet
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Mark Jason Lara
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Geography, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Melissa Lynn Chipman
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - A David McGuire
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Feng Sheng Hu
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Geology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO, USA; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Heim RJ, Heim W, Bültmann H, Kamp J, Rieker D, Yurtaev A, Hölzel N. Fire disturbance promotes biodiversity of plants, lichens and birds in the Siberian subarctic tundra. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:1048-1062. [PMID: 34706133 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Fire shapes the world's terrestrial ecosystems and has been influencing biodiversity patterns for millennia. Anthropogenic drivers alter fire regimes. Wildfires can amplify changes in the structure, biodiversity and functioning of the fast-warming tundra ecosystem. However, there is little evidence available, how these fires affect species diversity and community composition of tundra ecosystems over the long term. We studied long-term fire effects on community composition and diversity at different trophic levels of the food web in the subarctic tundra of Western Siberia. In a space-for-time approach we compared three large fire scars (>44, 28 and 12 years old) to unburnt controls. We found that diversity (measured as species richness, Shannon index and evenness) of vascular and non-vascular plants and birds was strongly affected by fire, with the greatest species richness of plants and birds for the intermediate-age fire scar (28 years). Species composition of plants and birds still differed from that of the control >44 years after fire. Increased deciduous shrub cover was related to species richness of all plants in a hump-shaped manner. The proportion of southern (taiga) bird species was highest in the oldest fire scar, which had the highest shrub cover. We conclude that tundra fires have long-term legacies with regard to species diversity and community composition. They may also increase landscape-scale species richness and facilitate range expansions of more southerly distributed species to the subarctic tundra ecosystem.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ramona J Heim
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Wieland Heim
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Helga Bültmann
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Johannes Kamp
- Department of Conservation Biology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Rieker
- Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Andrey Yurtaev
- Research Institute of Ecology and Natural Resources Management, Tyumen State University, Tyumen, Russia
| | - Norbert Hölzel
- Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| |
Collapse
|