BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The response of forest herb regeneration from seed to temperature variations across latitudes was experimentally assessed in order to forecast the likely response of understorey community dynamics to climate warming. METHODS: Seeds of two characteristic forest plants (Anemone nemorosa and Milium effusum) were collected in natural populations along a latitudinal gradient from northern France to northern Sweden and exposed to three temperature regimes in growth chambers (first experiment). To test the importance of local adaptation, reciprocal transplants were also made of adult individuals that originated from the same populations in three common gardens located in southern, central and northern sites along the same gradient, and the resulting seeds were germinated (second experiment). Seedling establishment was quantified by measuring the timing and percentage of seedling emergence, and seedling biomass in both experiments. KEY RESULTS: Spring warming increased emergence rates and seedling growth in the early-flowering forb A. nemorosa. Seedlings of the summer-flowering grass M. effusum originating from northern populations responded more strongly in terms of biomass growth to temperature than southern populations. The above-ground biomass of the seedlings of both species decreased with increasing latitude of origin, irrespective of whether seeds were collected from natural populations or from the common gardens. The emergence percentage decreased with increasing home-away distance in seeds from the transplant experiment, suggesting that the maternal plants were locally adapted. CONCLUSIONS: Decreasing seedling emergence and growth were found from the centre to the northern edge of the distribution range for both species. Stronger responses to temperature variation in seedling growth of the grass M. effusum in the north may offer a way to cope with environmental change. The results further suggest that climate warming might differentially affect seedling establishment of understorey plants across their distribution range and thus alter future understorey plant dynamics.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The response of forest herb regeneration from seed to temperature variations across latitudes was experimentally assessed in order to forecast the likely response of understorey community dynamics to climate warming. METHODS: Seeds of two characteristic forest plants (Anemone nemorosa and Milium effusum) were collected in natural populations along a latitudinal gradient from northern France to northern Sweden and exposed to three temperature regimes in growth chambers (first experiment). To test the importance of local adaptation, reciprocal transplants were also made of adult individuals that originated from the same populations in three common gardens located in southern, central and northern sites along the same gradient, and the resulting seeds were germinated (second experiment). Seedling establishment was quantified by measuring the timing and percentage of seedling emergence, and seedling biomass in both experiments. KEY RESULTS: Spring warming increased emergence rates and seedling growth in the early-flowering forb A. nemorosa. Seedlings of the summer-flowering grass M. effusum originating from northern populations responded more strongly in terms of biomass growth to temperature than southern populations. The above-ground biomass of the seedlings of both species decreased with increasing latitude of origin, irrespective of whether seeds were collected from natural populations or from the common gardens. The emergence percentage decreased with increasing home-away distance in seeds from the transplant experiment, suggesting that the maternal plants were locally adapted. CONCLUSIONS: Decreasing seedling emergence and growth were found from the centre to the northern edge of the distribution range for both species. Stronger responses to temperature variation in seedling growth of the grass M. effusum in the north may offer a way to cope with environmental change. The results further suggest that climate warming might differentially affect seedling establishment of understorey plants across their distribution range and thus alter future understorey plant dynamics.
Authors: Sarah C Elmendorf; Gregory H R Henry; Robert D Hollister; Robert G Björk; Anne D Bjorkman; Terry V Callaghan; Laura Siegwart Collier; Elisabeth J Cooper; Johannes H C Cornelissen; Thomas A Day; Anna Maria Fosaa; William A Gould; Járngerður Grétarsdóttir; John Harte; Luise Hermanutz; David S Hik; Annika Hofgaard; Frith Jarrad; Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir; Frida Keuper; Kari Klanderud; Julia A Klein; Saewan Koh; Gaku Kudo; Simone I Lang; Val Loewen; Jeremy L May; Joel Mercado; Anders Michelsen; Ulf Molau; Isla H Myers-Smith; Steven F Oberbauer; Sara Pieper; Eric Post; Christian Rixen; Clare H Robinson; Niels Martin Schmidt; Gaius R Shaver; Anna Stenström; Anne Tolvanen; Orjan Totland; Tiffany Troxler; Carl-Henrik Wahren; Patrick J Webber; Jeffery M Welker; Philip A Wookey Journal: Ecol Lett Date: 2011-12-05 Impact factor: 9.492
Authors: Rebecca A Sherry; Xuhui Zhou; Shiliang Gu; John A Arnone; David S Schimel; Paul S Verburg; Linda L Wallace; Yiqi Luo Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2006-12-20 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Cameron K Ghalambor; Raymond B Huey; Paul R Martin; Joshua J Tewksbury; George Wang Journal: Integr Comp Biol Date: 2006-01-06 Impact factor: 3.326
Authors: Katharine L Stuble; Courtney M Patterson; Mariano A Rodriguez-Cabal; Relena R Ribbons; Robert R Dunn; Nathan J Sanders Journal: PeerJ Date: 2014-03-11 Impact factor: 2.984