scholarly journals The Changbai Alpine Shrub Tundra Will Be Replaced by Herbaceous Tundra under Global Climate Change

Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 370
Author(s):  
Yinghua Jin ◽  
Jiawei Xu ◽  
Hongshi He ◽  
Mai-He Li ◽  
Yan Tao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Alpine Tundra ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Herbaceous Species ◽  
Tundra Zone ◽  
Growing Season Length

Significant replacement of shrub species by herbaceous species has been observed in the Changbai alpine tundra zone, China, since the 1990s. This study used plot surveys to analyze variations in the spatial distribution of dominant plants and to ascertain the changing mechanisms of dominant species in the alpine tundra zone. We found that the two previously dominant shrubs, Rhododendron chrysanthum and Vaccinium uliginosum, differed markedly in their distribution characteristics. The former had the highest abundance and the lowest coefficient of variation, skewness, and kurtosis, and the latter showed the opposite results, while the six herb species invaded had intermediate values. R. chrysanthum still had a relatively uniform distribution, while the herbaceous species and V. uliginosum had a patch distribution deviating from the normal distribution in the tundra zone. Micro-topography and slope grade had stronger effects on the spatial distribution of the eight plant species than elevation. Herbs tended to easily replace the shrubs on a semi-sunny slope aspect, steep slope, and depression. Overall, the dominance of dwarf shrubs declined, while the herbaceous species have encroached and expanded on the alpine tundra zone and have become co-dominant plant species. Our results suggest that various micro-topographic factors associated with variations in climatic and edaphic conditions determine the spatial distribution of plants in the alpine tundra zone. Future climate warming may cause decreased snow thickness, increased growing season length, and drought stress, which may further promote replacement of the shrubs by herbs, which shows retrogressive vegetation successions in the Changbai alpine tundra zone. Further studies need to focus on the physio-ecological mechanisms underlying the vegetation change and species replacement in the alpine tundra area under global climate change.

scholarly journals Geographic Distribution Shift of Invasive Plant Austroeupatorium inulifolium in the Future Climate Projection

2021 ◽  
pp. 38-47
Author(s):  
Angga Yudaputra ◽  
Izu Andry Fijridiyanto ◽  
Inggit Puji Astuti ◽  
Rizmoon Nurul Zulkarnaen ◽  
Ade Yuswandi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Invasive Plant Species ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Occurrence Records

Aims: This study aims to predict the future geographic distribution shift of invasive plant species Austroeupathorium inulifolium as the impact of global climate change. Study Design: The rising temperature and precipitation change lead to the geographic distribution shift of organisms. A. inulifolium belongs to invasive plant species that often causes a substantial economic loss and ecological degradation in the invaded areas. Modelling of species distribution using the climate-based model could be used to understand the geographic distribution shift of invasive species in the future scenario under global climate change. Place and Duration of Study: Center for Plant Conservation and Botanic Gardens – LIPI and 6 months. Methodology: The total 2228 of occurrence records were derived from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) database. The seven climatic variables were selected from 19 variables using a pairwise correlation test (vifcor) with a threshold >0.7. The ensemble model was used by combining Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Results: Both two models are well-performed either using AUC or TSS evaluation methods. RF and SVM have AUC >0.95, and TSS >0.8. The predicted current distribution tends to have larger distribution areas compared to observed occurrence records. The predicted future distribution seems to be shifted in several parts of North America and Europe. Conclusion: The geographic distribution of invasive plant species A. inulifolium will be shifted to the Northern part of globe in 2090. Mean temperature of driest quarter and precipitation of warmest quarter are the two most important variables that determine the distribution pattern of the A. inulifolium. The predictive distribution pattern of invasive plant A. inulifolium would be important to provide information about the impact of climate change to the geographic distribution shift of this species.

scholarly journals Potential Distribution Shifts of Plant Species under Climate Change in Changbai Mountains, China

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Wang ◽  
Wen J. Wang ◽  
Zhengfang Wu ◽  
Haibo Du ◽  
Shengwei Zong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Dwarf Shrub ◽  
Alpine Tundra ◽  
Changbai Mountains ◽  
Herbaceous Species ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Rcp 8.5 ◽  
Species Shifts

Shifts in alpine tundra plant species have important consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem services. However, recent research on upward species shifts have focused mainly on polar and high-latitude regions and it therefore remains unclear whether such vegetation change trends also are applicable to the alpine tundra at the southern edges of alpine tundra species distribution. This study evaluated an alpine tundra region within the Changbai Mountains, China, that is part of the southernmost alpine tundra in eastern Eurasia. We investigated plant species shifts in alpine tundra within the Changbai Mountains over the last three decades (1984–2015) by comparing contemporary survey results with historical ones and evaluated potential changes in the distribution of dwarf shrub and herbaceous species over the next three decades (2016–2045) using a combination of observations and simulations. The results of this study revealed that the encroachment of herbaceous plants had altered tundra vegetation to a significant extent over the last three decades, especially within low and middle alpine tundra regions in Changbai Mountains, China. The herbaceous species would continue shifting upward and expanding while their dwarf shrub counterparts would continue shifting upward and shrinking over the next three decades under the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. The upward shifts of plant species would not keep up with the rate of climate warming under the RCP 8.5 scenarios. The dominant plant tundra species may transform from dwarf shrubs to herbaceous varieties. The results of this study provide a scientific basis for biodiversity protection under climate change and a reference data set for additional research on alpine vegetation dynamics.

scholarly journals The Spatial Distribution of Precipitation in Northwest China

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuancheng Zhao ◽  
Shuxia Yao ◽  
Jun Liu ◽  
Jian Wang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Temperature Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Monthly Precipitation ◽  
The West ◽  
Monthly Data ◽  
Southern Shaanxi

Northwestern China has an extremely complex climate due to the varied terrain and complexities of climate change where the environment is sensitive to both regional and global climate change. We employed the Mann-Kendal test to investigate trends of precipitation distributions using annual, seasonal, and monthly data records from 1960 to 2008. On the whole, the variations in precipitation patterns are more complex than those for temperature. The trends of annual, seasonal, and monthly precipitation have shown remarkable differences between the east and west. In the west such as in northern Xinjiang and western Qinghai, the variation is a significant increase, consistent with the temperature change, whereas in the east such as in eastern Gansu, and southern Shaanxi, the variation is a remarkable decrease, opposite to the change observed in temperatures.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document