Ecosystem warming extends vegetation activity but heightens vulnerability to cold temperatures

Andrew D. Richardson (), Koen Hufkens, Thomas Milliman, Donald M. Aubrecht, Morgan E. Furze, Bijan Seyednasrollah, Misha B. Krassovski, John M. Latimer, W. Robert Nettles, Ryan R. Heiderman, Jeffrey M. Warren and Paul J. Hanson
Additional contact information
Andrew D. Richardson: Harvard University
Koen Hufkens: Harvard University
Thomas Milliman: Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire
Donald M. Aubrecht: Harvard University
Morgan E. Furze: Harvard University
Bijan Seyednasrollah: Harvard University
Misha B. Krassovski: Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
John M. Latimer: Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
W. Robert Nettles: Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Ryan R. Heiderman: Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Jeffrey M. Warren: Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Paul J. Hanson: Climate Change Science Institute and Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Nature, 2018, vol. 560, issue 7718, 368-371

Abstract: Abstract Shifts in vegetation phenology are a key example of the biological effects of climate change1–3. However, there is substantial uncertainty about whether these temperature-driven trends will continue, or whether other factors—for example, photoperiod—will become more important as warming exceeds the bounds of historical variability4,5. Here we use phenological transition dates derived from digital repeat photography6 to show that experimental whole-ecosystem warming treatments7 of up to +9 °C linearly correlate with a delayed autumn green-down and advanced spring green-up of the dominant woody species in a boreal Picea–Sphagnum bog. Results were confirmed by direct observation of both vegetative and reproductive phenology of these and other bog plant species, and by multiple years of observations. There was little evidence that the observed responses were constrained by photoperiod. Our results indicate a likely extension of the period of vegetation activity by 1–2 weeks under a ‘CO2 stabilization’ climate scenario (+2.6 ± 0.7 °C), and 3–6 weeks under a ‘high-CO2 emission’ scenario (+5.9 ± 1.1 °C), by the end of the twenty-first century. We also observed severe tissue mortality in the warmest enclosures after a severe spring frost event. Failure to cue to photoperiod resulted in precocious green-up and a premature loss of frost hardiness8, which suggests that vulnerability to spring frost damage will increase in a warmer world9,10. Vegetation strategies that have evolved to balance tradeoffs associated with phenological temperature tracking may be optimal under historical climates, but these strategies may not be optimized for future climate regimes. These in situ experimental results are of particular importance because boreal forests have both a circumpolar distribution and a key role in the global carbon cycle11.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0399-1

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