Dataset for: The importance of incorporating landscape change for predictions of climate-induced plant phenological shifts

Data taken from Chisholm et al. (2020): https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00759
Article abstract: Warming in the high Arctic is occurring at the fastest rate on the planet, raising concerns over how this global change driver will influence plant community composition, the timing of vegetation phenological events, and the wildlife that rely on them. In this region, as much as 50% of near-surface permafrost is composed of thermally sensitive ground ice that when melted produces substantial changes in topography and microbiome conditions. We take advantage of natural variations in permafrost melt to conduct a space-for-time study on Ellesmere Island in northern Canada. We demonstrate that phenological timing can be delayed in thermokarst areas when compared to stable ground, and that this change is a function of both shifting species composition in these vegetation communities, as well as delayed timing within species. These findings suggest that a warming climate could result in an overall broadening of blooming and leafing windows at the landscape level when these delayed timings are taken into consideration with the projected advance of phenological timings in ice-poor areas. We emphasize that the impacts of geomorphic processes on key phenological drivers are essential for enhancing our understanding of community response to climate warming in the high Arctic, with implications for ecosystem functioning and trophic interactions.

本数据集数据源自Chisholm等人（2020）的研究：https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00759

文章摘要：北极高纬度地区的增温速率为全球之首，这一全球变化驱动因子将如何影响植物群落组成、植被物候事件的发生时间，以及依赖这些植被的野生动物，引发了学界的广泛关注。该区域近地表多年冻土（permafrost）中，多达50%由热敏感地表冰构成，这些冰体融化后会显著改变地形与微生物组（microbiome）环境。我们利用多年冻土融化的自然差异，在加拿大北部埃尔斯米尔岛开展了空间替代时间研究（space-for-time study）。研究表明，与稳定地表相比，热喀斯特（thermokarst）区域的物候发生时间会出现延迟，且这种延迟既源于这些植被群落的物种组成发生变化，也源自同一物种内部的物候时间推迟。结合冰匮乏区域预计出现的物候提前现象，将这些延迟情况纳入考量后，本研究结果表明，气候变暖可能会在景观尺度上整体延长开花与展叶的物候窗口。我们强调，地貌过程对关键物候驱动因子的影响，对于加深我们理解北极高纬度地区群落对气候变暖的响应至关重要，这一发现也对生态系统功能与营养级互作（trophic interactions）研究具有启示意义。