Experimental warming causes mismatches in alpine plant-microbe-fauna phenology

Rui Yin, Wenkuan Qin, Xudong Wang, Dong Xie, Hao Wang, Hongyang Zhao, Zhenhua Zhang, Jin-Sheng He, Martin Schädler, Paul Kardol, Nico Eisenhauer and Biao Zhu ()
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Rui Yin: Peking University
Wenkuan Qin: Peking University
Xudong Wang: Peking University
Dong Xie: Lanzhou University
Hao Wang: Lanzhou University
Hongyang Zhao: Peking University
Zhenhua Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jin-Sheng He: Peking University
Martin Schädler: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, Department of Community Ecology
Paul Kardol: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Nico Eisenhauer: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Biao Zhu: Peking University

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Long-term observations have shown that many plants and aboveground animals have changed their phenology patterns due to warmer temperatures over the past decades. However, empirical evidence for phenological shifts in alpine organisms, particularly belowground organisms, is scarce. Here, we investigate how the activities and phenology of plants, soil microbes, and soil fauna will respond to warming in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau, and whether their potential phenological changes will be synchronized. We experimentally simulate an increase in soil temperature by 2–4 °C according to future projections for this region. We find that warming promotes plant growth, soil microbial respiration, and soil fauna feeding by 8%, 57%, and 20%, respectively, but causes dissimilar changes in their phenology during the growing season. Specifically, warming advances soil faunal feeding activity in spring and delays it in autumn, while their peak activity does not change; whereas warming increases the peak activity of plant growth and soil microbial respiration but with only minor shifts in their phenology. Such phenological asynchrony in alpine organisms may alter ecosystem functioning and stability.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37938-3

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