How alpine plant growth is linked to snow cover and climate variability
How alpine plant growth is linked to snow cover and climate variability
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DOI：
10.1029/2007jg000680
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发表时间：
2008-07-30
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Stoeckli, Veronika
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Jonas, Tobias;Rixen, Christian;Stoeckli, Veronika
[1]最近的气候模型预测了阿尔卑斯山未来温度和降水的变化。为了评估高山植物群落对气候变化的潜在响应，我们分析了温度、降水和雪季时间对植物生长的具体和综合影响。该分析基于17个降雪气象站的数据，包括10年来相同地点的植物生长记录。利用多元回归和通径分析，我们发现，植物生长主要是由气候因素控制的雪季的时间。气温和降水量之前的雪和融化后产生最大的直接影响最大的植物高度以及生长速率。不同地点和不同年份的环境驱动因素的变化对植物生长有不同的影响：e。例如，在一个实施例中，融化日期早的地点拥有高大、生长缓慢的植被的植物群落。但是，在一个给定的网站融化日期的年际变化并没有产生可测量的差异，植物生长性能。然而，融化后的高温总是导致生长期缩短。我们推测，我们观察到的植物生长模式，在应对气候变化的网站之间的长期反应，高山植物群落的持续气候变化的指示。由于大多数气候模型显示冬季较短，因此我们预计阿尔卑斯山的高山草原将在未来显示出更高的生物量生产。
[1] Recent climate models predict future changes in temperature and precipitation in the Alps. To assess the potential response of alpine plant communities to climate change, we analyzed specific and combined effects of temperature, precipitation, and snow season timing on the growth of plants. This analysis is based on data from 17 snow meteorological stations and includes plant growth records from the same sites over 10 years. Using multiple regression and path analysis, we found that plant growth was primarily driven by climatic factors controlled by the timing of the snow season. Air temperature and precipitation before snow-up and after melt-out yielded the greatest direct impact on maximum plant height as well as growth rates. The variability of environmental drivers between sites versus between years had different effects on plant growth: e. g., sites with early melt-out dates hosted plant communities with tall, slow-growing vegetation. But interannual variations in melt-out dates at a given site did not produce measurable differences in plant growth performance. However, high temperatures after melt-out invariably resulted in a shortened growth period. We speculate that the plant growth patterns we observed in response to climate variation between sites are indicative of the long-term responses of alpine plant communities to persistent climate changes. With most climate models indicating shorter winters, we thus expect alpine grasslands in the Alps to display an enhanced biomass production in the future.