北半球中高纬度地区近30年植被春季物候温度敏感性

北半球气候变暖导致植被春季物候开始日期显著提前,温度对春季物候的促进作用是一个过程事件而非瞬时事件,且存在空间差异。该研究在以前研究的基础上,进一步分析温度对植被物候的作用方式,并探讨春季物候温度敏感性的空间特征及影响因素。利用GIMMS3g卫星植被指数产品,采用5种方法提取1982–2009年植被春季物候,并结合格网气象数据计算植被春季物候的温度敏感性,着重分析自然植被春季物候温度敏感性与环境因素的关系。结果表明,温度是北半球植被春季物候的主要制约因素,54%的像元显示温度最大效应发生在物候开始当月和之前一个月。温度主导的春季物候的像元中,91.3%的像元指示早春温度对物候开始的促进作用。植被春季物候的温度敏感性存在空间异质性,随着区域环境因素的不同,年际温度标准差、累积降水量和辐射对植被春季物候温度敏感性都具有各自或协同的调控作用。     

1982—2009年基于卫星数据的北半球中高纬地区植被春季物候动态及其与气候的关系

深入认识北半球植被物候在全球变暖背景下的动态变化特征,对于评估和预测生态系统结构和功能对气候变化的响应有重要的指示作用.遥感技术是获取北半球植被春季物候的最重要方法,但是由于物候提取算法的差异,目前还存在较大的不确定性.本文利用5种方法,基于卫星获取的归一化植被指数估算了北半球中高纬地区1982—2009年植被春季物候开始日期,分析了该日期的多年动态变化的时空特征,并探讨了气候变化对春季物候变化的影响.结果表明: 研究区植被春季物候开始日期呈现提前趋势,研究期间提前(4.0±0.8) d,其中,欧亚大陆提前速率为(0.22±0.04) d·a^-1,显著高于北美大陆的变化速率(0.03±0.02 d·a^-1);不同植被类型的变化趋势不同,5种方法都显示草地表现为显著提前趋势,而林地的提前趋势不显著.区域平均的植被春季物候开始日期的年际波动主要受春季温度的变化所驱动(r² =0.61,P<0.001), 温度每上升1 ℃,可以导致春季物候提前(3.2±0.5) d,而春季降水影响不显著(P>0.05).     

The Northwest Passage opens for bowhead whales

The loss of Arctic sea ice is predicted to open up the Northwest Passage, shortening shipping routes and facilitating the exchange of marine organisms between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Here, we present the first observations of distribution overlap of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) from the two oceans in the Northwest Passage, demonstrating this route is already connecting whales from two populations that have been assumed to be separated by sea ice. Previous satellite tracking has demonstrated that bowhead whales from West Greenland and Alaska enter the ice-infested channels of the Canadian High Arctic during summer. In August 2010, two bowhead whales from West Greenland and Alaska entered the Northwest Passage from opposite directions and spent approximately 10 days in the same area, documenting overlap between the two populations.     

The role of sea ice for vascular plant dispersal in the Arctic

Sea ice has been suggested to be an important factor for dispersal of vascular plants in the Arctic. To assess its role for postglacial colonization in the North Atlantic region, we compiled data on the first Late Glacial to Holocene occurrence of vascular plant species in East Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Svalbard. For each record, we reconstructed likely past dispersal events using data on species distributions and genetics. We compared these data to sea-ice reconstructions to evaluate the potential role of sea ice in these past colonization events and finally evaluated these results using a compilation of driftwood records as an independent source of evidence that sea ice can disperse biological material. Our results show that sea ice was, in general, more prevalent along the most likely dispersal routes at times of assumed first colonization than along other possible routes. Also, driftwood is frequently dispersed in regions that have sea ice today. Thus, sea ice may act as an important dispersal agent. Melting sea ice may hamper future dispersal of Arctic plants and thereby cause more genetic differentiation. It may also limit the northwards expansion of competing boreal species, and hence favour the persistence of Arctic species.     

Variable sensitivity of plant communities in Iceland to experimental warming

Facing an increased threat of rapid climate change in cold‐climate regions, it is important to understand the sensitivity of plant communities both in terms of degree and direction of community change. We studied responses to 3–5 years of moderate experimental warming by open‐top chambers in two widespread but contrasting tundra communities in Iceland. In a species‐poor and nutrient‐deficient moss heath, dominated by Racomitrium lanuginosum, mean daily air temperatures at surface were 1–2°C higher in the warmed plots than the controls whereas soil temperatures tended to be lower in the warmed plots throughout the season. In a species‐rich dwarf shrub heath on relatively rich soils at a cooler site, dominated by Betula nana and R. lanuginosum, temperature changes were in the same direction although more moderate. In the moss heath, there were no detectable community changes while significant changes were detected in the dwarf shrub heath: the abundance of deciduous and evergreen dwarf shrubs significantly increased (>50%), bryophytes decreased (18%) and canopy height increased (100%). Contrary to some other studies of tundra communities, we detected no changes in species richness or other diversity measures in either community and the abundance of lichens did not change. It is concluded that the sensitivity of Icelandic tundra communities to climate warming varies greatly depending on initial conditions in terms of species diversity, dominant species, soil and climatic conditions as well as land‐use history.     

Energy feedbacks of northern high-latitude ecosystems to the climate system due to reduced snow cover during 20th century warming

The warming associated with changes in snow cover in northern high-latitude terrestrial regions represents an important energy feedback to the climate system. Here, we simulate snow cover-climate feedbacks (i.e. changes in snow cover on atmospheric heating) across the Pan-arctic over two distinct warming periods during the 20th century, 1910–1940 and 1970–2000. We offer evidence that increases in snow cover–climate feedbacks during 1970–2000 were nearly three times larger than during 1910–1940 because the recent snow-cover change occurred in spring, when radiation load is highest, rather than in autumn. Based on linear regression analysis, we also detected a greater sensitivity of snow cover–climate feedbacks to temperature trends during the more recent time period. Pan-arctic vegetation types differed substantially in snow cover–climate feedbacks. Those with a high seasonal contrast in albedo, such as tundra, showed much larger changes in atmospheric heating than did those with a low seasonal contrast in albedo, such as forests, even if the changes in snow-cover duration were similar across the vegetation types. These changes in energy exchange warrant careful consideration in studies of climate change, particularly with respect to associated shifts in vegetation between forests, grasslands, and tundra.     

Advancing the long view of ecological change in tundra systems

Despite uncertainties related to sustained funding, ideological rivalries and the turnover of research personnel, long-term studies and studies espousing a long-term perspective in ecology have a history of contributing landmark insights into fundamental topics, such as population- and community dynamics, species interactions and ecosystem function. They also have the potential to reveal surprises related to unforeseen events and non-stationary dynamics that unfold over the course of ongoing observation and experimentation. The unprecedented rate and magnitude of current and expected abiotic changes in tundra environments calls for a synthetic overview of the scope of ecological responses these changes have elicited. In this special issue, we present a series of contributions that advance the long view of ecological change in tundra systems, either through sustained long-term research, or through retrospective or prospective modelling. Beyond highlighting the value of long-term research in tundra systems, the insights derived herein should also find application to the study of ecological responses to environmental change in other biomes as well.     

Climatic effects on the breeding phenology and reproductive success of an arctic-nesting goose species

Climate warming is pronounced in the Arctic and migratory birds are expected to be among the most affected species. We examined the effects of local and regional climatic variations on the breeding phenology and reproductive success of greater snow geese ( Chen caerulescens atlantica ), a migratory species nesting in the Canadian Arctic. We used a long-term dataset based on the monitoring of 5447 nests and the measurements of 19 234 goslings over 16 years (1989–2004) on Bylot Island. About 50% of variation in the reproductive phenology of individuals was explained by spring climatic factors. High mean temperatures and, to a lesser extent, low snow cover in spring were associated with an increase in nest density and early egg-laying and hatching dates. High temperature in spring and high early summer rainfall were positively related to nesting success. These effects may result from a reduction in egg predation rate when the density of nesting geese is high and when increased water availability allows females to stay close to their nest during incubation recesses. Summer brood loss and production of young at the end of the summer increased when values of the summer Arctic Oscillation (AO) index were either very positive (low temperatures) or very negative (high temperatures), indicating that these components of the breeding success were most influenced by the regional summer climate. Gosling mass and size near fledging were reduced in years with high spring temperatures. This effect is likely due to a reduced availability of high quality food in years with early spring, either due to food depletion resulting from high brood density or a mismatch between hatching date of goslings and the timing of the peak of plant quality. Our analysis suggests that climate warming should advance the reproductive phenology of geese, but that high spring temperatures and extreme values of the summer AO index may decrease their reproductive success up to fledging.