Plant Responses to Temperature and Water Limitation Active
Weather and climate impacts on dominant native perennials must be understood in order to efficiently manage our western landscapes. We use an ecophysiological approach, linking to population, community, and landscape ecology, to understand the impacts and responses of plants on or to their environment.
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Climate drives adaptive genetic responses associated with survival in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
Effects of experimentally reduced snowpack and passive warming on montane meadow plant phenology and floral resources
Response of aboveground carbon balance to long-term, experimental enhancements in precipitation seasonality is contingent on plant community type in cold-desert rangelands
Warming and provenance limit tree recruitment across and beyond the elevation range of subalpine forest
Climate adaption and post-fire restoration of a foundational perennial in cold desert: Insights from intraspecific variation in response to weather
Online induction heating for determination of isotope composition of woody stem water with laser spectrometry: A methods assessment
Moisture rivals temperature in limiting photosynthesis by trees establishing beyond their cold-edge range limit under ambient and warmed conditions
Linking carbon and water limitations to drought-induced mortality of Pinus flexilis seedlings
Plants in alpine environments
Adaptive responses reveal contemporary and future ecotypes in a desert shrub
Conifer seedling recruitment across a gradient from forest to alpine tundra: effects of species, provenance, and site
Nonstructural leaf carbohydrates dynamics of Pinus edulis during drought-induced tree mortality reveal role for carbon metabolism in mortality mechanism
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- Overview
Weather and climate impacts on dominant native perennials must be understood in order to efficiently manage our western landscapes. We use an ecophysiological approach, linking to population, community, and landscape ecology, to understand the impacts and responses of plants on or to their environment.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
- Data
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 28Climate drives adaptive genetic responses associated with survival in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
A genecological approach was used to explore genetic variation for survival in Artemisia tridentata(big sagebrush). Artemisia tridentata is a widespread and foundational shrub species in western North America. This species has become extremely fragmented, to the detriment of dependent wildlife, and efforts to restore it are now a land management priority. Common-garden experiments were establishedAuthorsLindsay Chaney, Bryce A. Richardson, Matthew J. GerminoEffects of experimentally reduced snowpack and passive warming on montane meadow plant phenology and floral resources
Climate change can have a broad range of effects on ecosystems and organisms, and early responses may include shifts in vegetation phenology and productivity that may not coincide with the energetics and forage timing of higher trophic levels. We evaluated phenology, annual height growth, and foliar frost responses of forbs to a factorial experiment of snow removal (SR) and warming in a high-elevaAuthorsJ.A. Sherwood, D.M. Debinski, P.C. Caragea, Matthew J. GerminoResponse of aboveground carbon balance to long-term, experimental enhancements in precipitation seasonality is contingent on plant community type in cold-desert rangelands
Semi-arid rangelands are important carbon (C) pools at global scales. However, the degree of net C storage or release in water-limited systems is a function of precipitation amount and timing, as well as plant community composition. In northern latitudes of western North America, C storage in cold-desert ecosystems could increase with boosts in wintertime precipitation, in which climate models preAuthorsKathryn McAbee, Keith Reinhardt, Matthew J. Germino, Andrew BosworthWarming and provenance limit tree recruitment across and beyond the elevation range of subalpine forest
Climate niche models project that subalpine forest ranges will extend upslope with climate warming. These projections assume that the climate suitable for adult trees will be adequate for forest regeneration, ignoring climate requirements for seedling recruitment, a potential demographic bottleneck. Moreover, local genetic adaptation is expected to facilitate range expansion, with tree populationsAuthorsLara M. Kueppers, Erin Conlisk, Cristina Castanha, Andrew B. Moyes, Matthew J. Germino, Perry de Valpine, Margaret S. Torn, Jeffry B. MittonClimate adaption and post-fire restoration of a foundational perennial in cold desert: Insights from intraspecific variation in response to weather
1.The loss of foundational but fire-intolerant perennials such as sagebrush due to increases in fire size and frequency in semiarid regions has motivated efforts to restore them, often with mixed or even no success. Seeds of sagebrush Artemisia tridentata and related species must be moved considerable distances from seed source to planting sites, but such transfers have not been guided by an undeAuthorsMartha M. Brabec, Matthew J. Germino, Bryce A. RichardsonOnline induction heating for determination of isotope composition of woody stem water with laser spectrometry: A methods assessment
Application of stable isotopes of water to studies of plant–soil interactions often requires a substantial preparatory step of extracting water from samples without fractionating isotopes. Online heating is an emerging approach for this need, but is relatively untested and major questions of how to best deliver standards and assess interference by organics have not been evaluated. We examined thesAuthorsBrynne E. Lazarus, Matthew J. Germino, Jessica L. Vander VeenMoisture rivals temperature in limiting photosynthesis by trees establishing beyond their cold-edge range limit under ambient and warmed conditions
Climate change is altering plant species distributions globally, and warming is expected to promote uphill shifts in mountain trees. However, at many cold-edge range limits, such as alpine treelines in the western United States, tree establishment may be colimited by low temperature and low moisture, making recruitment patterns with warming difficult to predict. We measured response functions linAuthorsAndrew B. Moyes, Matthew J. Germino, Lara M. KueppersLinking carbon and water limitations to drought-induced mortality of Pinus flexilis seedlings
Survival of tree seedlings at high elevations has been shown to be limited by thermal constraints on carbon balance, but it is unknown if carbon relations also limit seedling survival at lower elevations, where water relations may be more important. We measured and modeled carbon fluxes and water relations in first-year Pinus flexilis seedlings in garden plots just beyond the warm edge of their naAuthorsKeith Reinhardt, Matthew J. Germino, Lara M. Kueppers, Jean-Christophe Domec, Jeffry MittonPlants in alpine environments
Alpine and subalpine plant species are of special interest in ecology and ecophysiology because they represent life at the climate limit and changes in their relative abundances can be a bellwether for climate-change impacts. Perennial life forms dominate alpine plant communities, and their form and function reflect various avoidance, tolerance, or resistance strategies to interactions of cold teAuthorsMatthew J. GerminoAdaptive responses reveal contemporary and future ecotypes in a desert shrub
Interacting threats to ecosystem function, including climate change, wildfire, and invasive species necessitate native plant restoration in desert ecosystems. However, native plant restoration efforts often remain unguided by ecological genetic information. Given that many ecosystems are in flux from climate change, restoration plans need to account for both contemporary and future climates when cAuthorsBryce A. Richardson, Stanley G. Kitchen, Rosemary L. Pendleton, Burton K. Pendleton, Matthew J. Germino, Gerald E. Rehfeldt, Susan E. MeyerConifer seedling recruitment across a gradient from forest to alpine tundra: effects of species, provenance, and site
Background: Seedling germination and survival is a critical control on forest ecosystem boundaries, such as at the alpine–treeline ecotone. In addition, while it is known that species respond individualistically to the same suite of environmental drivers, the potential additional effect of local adaptation on seedling success has not been evaluated. Aims: To determine whether local adaptation mayAuthorsC. Castanha, M.S. Torn, M.J. Germino, Bettina Weibel, L.M. KueppersNonstructural leaf carbohydrates dynamics of Pinus edulis during drought-induced tree mortality reveal role for carbon metabolism in mortality mechanism
* Vegetation change is expected with global climate change, potentially altering ecosystem function and climate feedbacks. However, causes of plant mortality, which are central to vegetation change, are understudied, and physiological mechanisms remain unclear, particularly the roles of carbon metabolism and xylem function. * We report analysis of foliar nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) and assoAuthorsHenry D. Adams, Matthew J. Germino, David D. Breshears, Greg A. Barron-Gafford, Maite Guardiola-Claramonte, Chris B. Zou, Travis E. Huxman - News
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