Final published version
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Shrub expansion modulates belowground impacts of changing snow conditions in alpine grasslands
AU - Broadbent, Arthur A.D.
AU - Bahn, Michael
AU - Pritchard, William J.
AU - Newbold, Lindsay K.
AU - Goodall, Tim
AU - Guinta, Andrew
AU - Snell, Helen S.K.
AU - Cordero, Irene
AU - Michas, Antonios
AU - Grant, Helen K.
AU - Soto, David X.
AU - Kaufmann, Rüdiger
AU - Schloter, Michael
AU - Griffiths, Robert I.
AU - Bardgett, Richard D.
PY - 2022/1/31
Y1 - 2022/1/31
N2 - Climate change is disproportionately impacting mountain ecosystems, leading to large reductions in winter snow cover, earlier spring snowmelt and widespread shrub expansion into alpine grasslands. Yet, the combined effects of shrub expansion and changing snow conditions on abiotic and biotic soil properties remains poorly understood. We used complementary field experiments to show that reduced snow cover and earlier snowmelt have effects on soil microbial communities and functioning that persist into summer. However, ericaceous shrub expansion modulates a number of these impacts and has stronger belowground effects than changing snow conditions. Ericaceous shrub expansion did not alter snow depth or snowmelt timing but did increase the abundance of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi and oligotrophic bacteria, which was linked to decreased soil respiration and nitrogen availability. Our findings suggest that changing winter snow conditions have cross-seasonal impacts on soil properties, but shifts in vegetation can modulate belowground effects of future alpine climate change.
AB - Climate change is disproportionately impacting mountain ecosystems, leading to large reductions in winter snow cover, earlier spring snowmelt and widespread shrub expansion into alpine grasslands. Yet, the combined effects of shrub expansion and changing snow conditions on abiotic and biotic soil properties remains poorly understood. We used complementary field experiments to show that reduced snow cover and earlier snowmelt have effects on soil microbial communities and functioning that persist into summer. However, ericaceous shrub expansion modulates a number of these impacts and has stronger belowground effects than changing snow conditions. Ericaceous shrub expansion did not alter snow depth or snowmelt timing but did increase the abundance of ericoid mycorrhizal fungi and oligotrophic bacteria, which was linked to decreased soil respiration and nitrogen availability. Our findings suggest that changing winter snow conditions have cross-seasonal impacts on soil properties, but shifts in vegetation can modulate belowground effects of future alpine climate change.
KW - alpine vegetation
KW - belowground ecosystem functioning
KW - biogeochemical cycles
KW - ericaceous
KW - microbial community
KW - snow cover
KW - soil microbiome
KW - winter climate change
U2 - 10.1111/ele.13903
DO - 10.1111/ele.13903
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34708508
AN - SCOPUS:85118217078
VL - 25
SP - 52
EP - 64
JO - Ecology Letters
JF - Ecology Letters
SN - 1461-023X
IS - 1
ER -