Species interactions slow warming-induced upward shifts of treelines on the Tibetan Plateau
Liang, Eryuan (Zhongguo ke xue yuan. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Wang, Yafeng (Zhongguo ke xue yuan. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Piao, Shilong (Zhongguo ke xue yuan. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Lu, Xiaoming (Zhongguo ke xue yuan. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Camarero, Jesús Julio (Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología)
Zhu, Haifeng (Zhongguo ke xue yuan. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Zhu, Liping (Zhongguo ke xue yuan. Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research)
Ellison, Aaron M. (Harvard Forest)
Ciais, Philippe (Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement)
Peñuelas, Josep (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)

Date:	2016
Abstract:	The alpine treeline is commonly regarded as being sensitive to climatic warming because regeneration and growth of trees at treeline generally are limited by low temperature. The alpine treelines of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) occur at the highest elevations (4,900 m above sea level) in the Northern Hemisphere. Ongoing climatic warming is expected to shift treelines upward. Studies of treeline dynamics at regional and local scales, however, have yielded conflicting results, indicating either unchanging treeline elevations or upward shifts. To reconcile this conflict, we reconstructed in detail a century of treeline structure and tree recruitment at sites along a climatic gradient of 4 °C and mean annual rainfall of 650 mm on the eastern TP. Species interactions interacted with effects of warming on treeline and could outweigh them. Densification of shrubs just above treeline inhibited tree establishment, and slowed upward movement of treelines on a time scale of decades. Interspecific interactions are major processes controlling treeline dynamics that may account for the absence of an upward shift at some TP treelines despite continued climatic warming.
Grants:	European Commission 610028
Rights:	Tots els drets reservats.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Alpine treeline ; Treeline dynamics ; Climate change ; Interspecific competition ; Tibetan Plateau
Published in:	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 113, no. 16 (April 2016) , p. 4380-4385, ISSN 1091-6490

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1520582113
PMID: 27044083

Post-print 43 p, 2.3 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals) > Imbalance-P
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