Marine-derived nutrients shape the functional composition of High Arctic plant communities

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985939%3A_____%2F25%3A00636205" target="_blank" >RIV/67985939:_____/25:00636205 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216208:11310/25:10513032

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.70056" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.70056</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.70056" target="_blank" >10.1111/1365-2435.70056</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Marine-derived nutrients shape the functional composition of High Arctic plant communities

Original language description

Low temperatures and nutrient limitation have shaped Arctic plant communities, which are now affected by biome-wise changes in both climate and nutrient cycling. Rising temperatures are favouring taller plant species with more resource-acquisitive traits across the Arctic tundra. Simultaneously, declines in seabird populations may reduce subsidies of marine-derived nutrients to terrestrial ecosystems, potentially favouring more resource-conservative plant traits. It is crucial to understand the consequences of these concurrent changes in climate and marine-derived nutrient inputs from seabirds for the functional composition and roles of Arctic plant communities. We use a 'space-for-time approach' to compare the functional composition of vascular plant communities across two elevational gradients in High Arctic Svalbard, one where climate is the major environmental driver and one influenced by nutrient input from a seabird colony. We assess changes in 13 traits related to plant size, leaf economics and nutrient cycling along the two gradients, and we also explore the relative contributions of species turnover and intraspecific variation to total trait variation across and between the gradients. Elevation per se had little impact on the plant functional composition. Instead, plants at the top of the seabird nutrient gradient, closest to the nesting sites, were taller and had resource-acquisitive trait values, such as larger and thicker leaves and higher leaf nutrient contents. Enriched soil delta N-15 parts per thousand signatures at these sites correlated with resource-acquisitive values of leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf phosphorous content and with enriched leaf delta N-15 parts per thousand signatures. This variation in leaf economic traits and isotopes was largely driven by intraspecific variation at the nutrient gradient, whereas species turnover dominated at the reference gradient. Our results are consistent with marine-derived nutrient subsidies from seabirds being a major driver of functional trait variation in Arctic vegetation. Ongoing declines in seabird populations may therefore affect terrestrial primary producer communities in the Arctic and beyond, with potentially important but unknown implications for biodiversity, consumer and decomposer communities, and ecosystem processes.

Czech name

—

Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Functional Ecology

ISSN

0269-8463

e-ISSN

1365-2435

Volume of the periodical

39

Issue of the periodical within the volume

6

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

16

Pages from-to

1606-1621

UT code for WoS article

001483381900001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105004690197