Recovery of plant species diversity during long-term experimental warming of a species-rich alpine meadow community on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. (September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Chunhui; Willis, Charles G.; Klein, Julia A.; Ma, Zhen; Li, Junyong; Zhou, Huakun; Zhao, Xinquan
• Is Part Of: Biological conservation. Volume 213:Part A(2017)
• Page Start: 218
• Page End: 224
• Publication Date: 2017-09
• Subjects: Climate change -- Community reassembly -- Competitive release -- Species colonization -- Species loss -- Species turnover; Conservation of natural resources -- Periodicals; Nature conservation -- Periodicals; Ecology -- Periodicals; Environment -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 333.9516
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2017.07.019
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0006-3207

Abstract

Abstract: Climate change is predicted to dramatically alter the composition of plant communities. The impact of climate change on these communities is often based on short-term warming experiments, which have revealed marked declines in species diversity in response to relatively minor increases in average annual temperatures. The long-term effects of such warming on community diversity and composition, however, are less well understood. Here, we formalize a hypothesis of rebounding diversity, where species richness initially declines in response to warming, but subsequently recovers through a combination of colonization (via dispersal and seed banks) and competitive release (via shifts in the dominant species). We compared long-term changes in species diversity and abundance between control and experimentally warmed (1–2 °C) plots, sampled over an 18-year period, in alpine meadow communities of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. While there was an initial decline in species diversity by c. 40% (11–19 species) over the first four years, 18 years later, diversity had rebounded to initial levels, on a par with control plots. The composition of the experimentally warmed communities, however, was significantly altered. Our study suggests that short-term experiments may be insufficient to capture the temporal variability in community diversity and composition in response to climate change. Rather, the long-term impacts of continued global warming are predicted to result in highly dynamic processes of community reassembly and turnover that do not necessarily lead to a net decline in local diversity, but do lead to the formation of novel communities. Highlights: The experimental warming study was carried out in alpine meadow communities. Species richness initially declined in response to warming. Species richness subsequently recovered through colonization and competitive release. Long-term warming does not necessarily lead to a net decline in local diversity. Continued warming results in highly dynamic processes of community reassembly.