Alpine and Arctic tundra shrub populations show similar ontogenetic growth trends but differing absolute growth rates and lifespan |
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| Institution: | 1. Jan Evangelista Purkyně University, Faculty of Environment, Department of Environment, Pasteurova 15, 400 96 Ústí n. Labem, Czech Republic;2. Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Kamýcká 129, Suchdol, 165 00 Praha 6, Czech Republic;3. Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Dukelská 135, T?eboň 379 01, Czech Republic;1. College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, PR China;2. Ordos Forestry and Grassland Development Center, Ordos 017000, China;1. CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Pólo dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Campus de Ponta Delgada, Rua da Mãe de Deus, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal;2. Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of the Azores, Campus de Ponta Delgada, Rua da Mãe de Deus, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal;3. BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal;4. Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Technical University of Munich, Germany;5. Department for Forest and Landscape Planning and Monitoring, Slovenian Forestry Institute, Slovenia;6. Avans University of Applied Sciences, Environmental Sciences for Sustainable Energy and Technology, Postbus 90.116, 4800 RA Breda, the Netherlands;7. cE3c, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE – Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of the Azores, Rua Capitão João d´Ávila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal;1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Protection and Utilization, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;2. College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050024, China;3. Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK;1. Department of Anthropology and Geography, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA;2. Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA;3. Tree Ring Laboratory, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA;4. Cooperative Programs for the Advancement of Earth System Science, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, CO, USA;5. University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA;6. CREAF, Barcelona, Spain |
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| Abstract: | The majority of terrestrial primary production is performed by plants, the ontogenetic growth trends of which significantly influence biomass and carbon dynamics. Here, we present a study of ontogenetic trends in primary (apical) and secondary (stem thickening) growth of plants in Arctic (Svalbard, Norway) and alpine (Krkono?e, Czechia) populations of the black crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), the dominant plant species of certain tundra communities. The environmental conditions in alpine areas are more favourable for plant growth than those in the High Arctic, where temperatures are lower, there is less precipitation and soils are shallower, among other differences. These differences were clearly reflected in significant distinctions in absolute growth rates and shrub age between the populations under study. However, we found almost no divergence in ontogenetic growth trends between the populations (based on ring width measurements made from the base to the top of plants, known as serial sectioning). In both populations, primary and secondary stem base growth decrease over the course of ontogeny whereas secondary stem top growth and basal area increment increase. No significant differences in the slope of the trends were found in either primary or secondary stem base growth. Trends of the growth ratio between basal area increment and primary growth revealed neither absolute nor relative differences between the populations. Ontogenetic trends in the shrubs analysed were surprisingly stable despite the prominently dissimilar environmental conditions. Empetrum plants have adapted to the different environments by altering their absolute growth rate only. This adaptation has probably also resulted in the different longevity of plants constituting the study populations, confirming the theory that slower-growing plants live longer. Primary growth and secondary stem base growth seem to be more basic characteristics of plant growth compared to basal area increment and secondary growth at the apex because the latter two seem to be dependent on the absolute growth rate. |
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| Keywords: | Black crowberry Carbon sequestration Climate change Growth ecology Population dynamics Shrub dendrochronology Tundra shrub ontogeny |
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