Tree establishment in subalpine meadows is a multistep process, from cone production through adult survival, and a potential indicator of ecological effects of climate change.
While most studies have focused on one or a few steps, this study follows a cohort of individually marked subalpine fir saplings for 27 years in two south-facing, tall-sedge meadows in Olympic National Park. Mortality was high for the first few years, but the number of saplings stabilized after the first decade, persisting mainly in lichen and huckleberry communities. Seedling mortality during germination and establishment was directly related to high temperatures and drought, while mortality of established saplings was indirectly related to weather through effects on growth. Growth was enhanced by a longer growing season and warmer minimum temperatures. While microsite factors such as snow depth are important in determining sapling success, the landscape or meadow orientation - such as north vs. south aspect - exerts control over whether a subalpine meadow is likely to disappear with warming climate.
Woodward, A., Soll, J.A., 2021, Establishment and Survival of Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) in Meadows of Olympic National Park, Washington: Northwest Science, v. 94, no. 3-4, p. 256-270, https://doi.org/10.3955/046.094.0304.
Related Content
Terrestrial Ecosystems Laboratory (FRESC)
Terrestrial Vegetation Dynamics
Related Content
- Science
Terrestrial Ecosystems Laboratory (FRESC)
Research in our laboratory centers on the ecology and biogeochemistry of forest ecosystems, as well as grassland and riparian systems. We examine how factors such as natural and human disturbances, climate and climate change, succession, and soil fertility shape ecosystem biogeochemistry - and the reciprocal effect of biogeochemical cycles on these and other factors.Terrestrial Vegetation Dynamics
Plant communities are the foundation for terrestrial trophic webs and animal habitat, and their structure and species composition are a result of biological and physical drivers. Additionally, they have a major role in geologic, geomorphic and soil development processes. Several global and regional stressors (for example, climate change, atmospheric and precipitation chemistry, introduced pests... - Partners
Get Our News
These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics, locations, and more. You can install and RSS reader browser extension, software, or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added. If you click the feed links below, they may look strange because they are simply XML code. An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site.