TY - JOUR
T1 - Microclimate moderates plant responses to macroclimate warming
AU - De Frenne, Pieter
AU - Rodriguez-Sanchez, Francisco
AU - Coomes, David Anthony
AU - Baeten, Lander
AU - Verstraeten, Gorik
AU - Vellend, Mark
AU - Bernhardt-Roemermann, Markus
AU - Brown, Carissa D.
AU - Brunet, Jorg
AU - Cornelis, Johnny
AU - Decocq, Guillaume M.
AU - Dierschke, Hartmut
AU - Eriksson, Ove
AU - Gilliam, Frank S.
AU - Hedl, Radim
AU - Heinken, Thilo
AU - Hermy, Martin
AU - Hommel, Patrick
AU - Jenkins, Michael A.
AU - Kelly, Daniel L.
AU - Kirby, Keith J.
AU - Mitchell, Fraser J. G.
AU - Naaf, Tobias
AU - Newman, Miles
AU - Peterken, George
AU - Petrik, Petr
AU - Schultz, Jan
AU - Sonnier, Gregory
AU - Van Calster, Hans
AU - Waller, Donald M.
AU - Walther, Gian-Reto
AU - White, Peter S.
AU - Woods, Kerry D.
AU - Wulf, Monika
AU - Graae, Bente Jessen
AU - Verheyen, Kris
PY - 2013/11/12
Y1 - 2013/11/12
N2 - Recent global warming is acting across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems to favor species adapted to warmer conditions and/or reduce the abundance of cold-adapted organisms (i.e., ``thermophilization'' of communities). Lack of community responses to increased temperature, however, has also been reported for several taxa and regions, suggesting that ``climatic lags'' may be frequent. Here we show that microclimatic effects brought about by forest canopy closure can buffer biotic responses to macroclimate warming, thus explaining an apparent climatic lag. Using data from 1,409 vegetation plots in European and North American temperate forests, each surveyed at least twice over an interval of 12-67 y, we document significant thermophilization of ground-layer plant communities. These changes reflect concurrent declines in species adapted to cooler conditions and increases in species adapted to warmer conditions. However, thermophilization, particularly the increase of warm-adapted species, is attenuated in forests whose canopies have become denser, probably reflecting cooler growing-season ground temperatures via increased shading. As standing stocks of trees have increased in many temperate forests in recent decades, local microclimatic effects may commonly be moderating the impacts of macroclimate warming on forest understories. Conversely, increases in harvesting woody biomass-e.g., for bioenergy-may open forest canopies and accelerate thermophilization of temperate forest biodiversity.
AB - Recent global warming is acting across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems to favor species adapted to warmer conditions and/or reduce the abundance of cold-adapted organisms (i.e., ``thermophilization'' of communities). Lack of community responses to increased temperature, however, has also been reported for several taxa and regions, suggesting that ``climatic lags'' may be frequent. Here we show that microclimatic effects brought about by forest canopy closure can buffer biotic responses to macroclimate warming, thus explaining an apparent climatic lag. Using data from 1,409 vegetation plots in European and North American temperate forests, each surveyed at least twice over an interval of 12-67 y, we document significant thermophilization of ground-layer plant communities. These changes reflect concurrent declines in species adapted to cooler conditions and increases in species adapted to warmer conditions. However, thermophilization, particularly the increase of warm-adapted species, is attenuated in forests whose canopies have become denser, probably reflecting cooler growing-season ground temperatures via increased shading. As standing stocks of trees have increased in many temperate forests in recent decades, local microclimatic effects may commonly be moderating the impacts of macroclimate warming on forest understories. Conversely, increases in harvesting woody biomass-e.g., for bioenergy-may open forest canopies and accelerate thermophilization of temperate forest biodiversity.
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1311190110
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1311190110
M3 - A1: Web of Science-article
VL - 110
SP - 18561
EP - 18565
JO - Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences
JF - Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences
IS - 46
ER -