Advancing the long view of ecological change in tundra systems |
| |
Authors: | Eric Post Toke T. H?ye |
| |
Affiliation: | 1.The Polar Center, and Department of Biology, Penn State University, 208 Mueller Lab, University Park, PA 16802, USA;2.Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410 Rønde, Denmark;3.Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, CF Møllers Allé 8, building 1110, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark |
| |
Abstract: | 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. |
| |
Keywords: | Arctic climate change long-term studies tundra biome warming |
|
|