Fire facilitates warming-induced upward shifts of alpine treelines by altering interspecific interactions
Wang, Yafeng (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Case, Bradley (Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand))
Lu, Xiaoming (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Ellison, Aaron M. (Harvard University. Harvard Forest)
Peñuelas, Josep (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Zhu, Haifeng (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Liang, Eryuan (Chinese Academy of Sciences. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Camarero, Jesús Julio (Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología)

Data:	2019
Resum:	Biotic interactions between trees and other plants may modulate the responses of alpine treelines to climate. Moderate disturbances could, therefore, accelerate upward shifts of alpine treelines as the climate warms by reducing the coverage of competitor plants and resetting interspecific interactions. Larch (Larix potaninii var. macrocarpa) treelines disturbed by fire on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau are good locales for testing this hypothesis. We characterized treelines in five large rectangular plots spanning undisturbed and fire-disturbed fir (Abies georgei) and larch treelines. The fires in the 1960s caused gaps in the reconstructed age structures of the larches during the 1970s but did not lead to downslope shifts in treeline position. Recruitment has instead increased since the 1980s within the disturbed larch treelines, with treelines shifting upward by 11-44 m. In contrast, the undisturbed larch and fir treeline positions remained mostly unchanged. We hypothesize that upslope shifts of alpine treelines are likely a consequence of climatic warming, but fire disturbances can accelerate these dynamics by altering interspecific interactions.
Ajuts:	European Commission 610028
Drets:	Tots els drets reservats.
Llengua:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Matèria:	Climate change ; Dendroecology ; Fire disturbance ; Interspecific competition ; Tree recruitment ; Treeline shift
Publicat a:	Trees, structure and function, Vol. 33 (March 2019) , p. 1051-1061, ISSN 0931-1890

DOI: 10.1007/s00468-019-01841-6

Postprint 35 p, 1021.3 KB

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