Gradual expansion of moisture sensitive Abies spectabilis forest in the Trans-Himalayan zone of central Nepal associated with climate change |
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| Institution: | 1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China;2. School of Resource and Environmental Science, Yuxi Normal University, Yuxi 653100, China;3. Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS, Kunming 650204, China;1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Plant Resources and Sustainable Use, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun town, Mengla County, Yunnan Province 666303, China;2. The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia;1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China;2. Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China;3. University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;4. Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China;1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla 666303, China;2. Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Biodiversity, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China;3. Environment, Earth and Ecosystems, Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research, The Open University, United Kingdom;4. State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China;5. State Key Laboratory of Paleobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;1. Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China;2. Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Biodiversity, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China;3. State Key Laboratory of Paleobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;4. Centre for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan 666303, China;5. Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa;6. Komarov Botanical Institute, Prof. Popov Str. 2, 197376, St. Petersburg, Russia;7. National Plateau Wetlands Research Center, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China;8. Department of Paleontology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria |
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| Abstract: | Population structure and tree recruitment dynamics in the natural treeline ecotone of high mountains are strong indicators of vegetation responses to climate. Here, we examined recruitment dynamics of Abies spectabilis across the treeline ecotone (3439–3638 m asl) of Chimang Lekh of Annapurna Conservation Area in the Trans-Himalayan zone of central Nepal. Dendrochronological techniques were used to establish stand age structure by ring counts of adults, and by terminal bud scar count for seedlings and saplings. The results showed abundant seedling recruitment, higher regenerative inertia and colonization with a consistent range shift of the A. spectabilis treeline. The upward expansion of this sub-alpine treeline was found to be driven by a strong dependence of seedling recruitment and radial growth on snowmelt and precipitation as temperatures rise. The radial growth of A. spectabilis at the alpine timberline ecotone (ATE) and closed timberline forest (CTF) showed sensitivity to spring season (March–May) climate. Tree ring indices of CTF showed a strong positive correlation with spring and annual precipitation, and a significant negative correlation with spring and annual temperature, however, moisture sensitivity was less strong at ATE than CTF. |
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| Keywords: | Trans-Himalaya Treeline Recruitment Ecotone |
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