The significant role of snow in shaping alpine treeline responses in modelled boreal forests.
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| Title: | The significant role of snow in shaping alpine treeline responses in modelled boreal forests. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Haupt, Sarah1,2 (AUTHOR) sarah.haupt@awi.de, Gloy, Josias2 (AUTHOR), Farkas, Luca2 (AUTHOR), Schildt, Katharina1,2 (AUTHOR), Trimborn, Lisa2,3 (AUTHOR), Kruse, Stefan2 (AUTHOR) stefan.kruse@awi.de |
| Source: | Biogeosciences. 2025, Vol. 22 Issue 22, p6811-6839. 29p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Timberline, *Climate change, *Ice crystals, *Vegetation dynamics, *Ecosystem dynamics, *Taigas, *Biodiversity conservation, *Species distribution |
| Geographic Terms: | Russia, Canada, Northern Hemisphere |
| Abstract: | Treelines across the Northern Hemisphere are shifting upward and northward in response to global warming, particularly in boreal forests, where climate change progresses more rapidly at high elevations and latitudes. These shifts intensify competition for resources, threaten endemic alpine species, and disrupt established ecological relationships, leading to biodiversity loss. However, significant heterogeneity and regional variation exist in how treelines respond to environmental changes, with many underlying drivers and constraints still poorly understood. This study aims to enhance understanding of treeline dynamics at three alpine study sites – located in Canada, Russia, and Alaska – and to improve vegetation model predictions under changing climatic conditions. We evaluated the relative impact of key factors influencing treeline migration velocity and examined the effects of varying snow regimes on treeline migration within the alpine treeline ecotone. To achieve this, we incorporated a novel snow module into the vegetation model LAVESI (Larix Vegetation Simulator), enabling the integration of precipitation outside the growing season, snow accumulation, and snowmelt processes. This module allows for explicit modelling of the positive and negative impacts of snow depth on tree growth and treeline migration, while accounting for stochastically occurring extreme events and capturing full weather variability. Our findings reveal site-specific responses to factors driving treeline shifts and forest expansion, with localised conditions playing a critical role in shaping migration dynamics. The Canadian and the Russian sites demonstrate clear insights into primary migration drivers, while the high variability at the Alaskan site indicates more complex local dynamics and greater predictive uncertainty. The study highlights the significant role of snow in modulating migration potential, as snow accumulation creates favourable conditions for seedling germination and growth while also posing risks of increased mortality from snow loads or avalanches. These results underscore the importance of incorporating snow-related processes into vegetation models to improve the accuracy of predictions for boreal forest dynamics. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into tree migration processes, highlighting the varied predictability of treeline responses across regions. These findings carry significant implications for refining vegetation models and guiding conservation strategies to sustain alpine tundra resilience in the face of accelerating climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Database: | Energy & Power Source |
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| Header | DbId: enr DbLabel: Energy & Power Source An: 189708982 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The significant role of snow in shaping alpine treeline responses in modelled boreal forests. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Haupt%2C+Sarah%22">Haupt, Sarah</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> sarah.haupt@awi.de</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gloy%2C+Josias%22">Gloy, Josias</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Farkas%2C+Luca%22">Farkas, Luca</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Schildt%2C+Katharina%22">Schildt, Katharina</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Trimborn%2C+Lisa%22">Trimborn, Lisa</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kruse%2C+Stefan%22">Kruse, Stefan</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> stefan.kruse@awi.de</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Biogeosciences%22">Biogeosciences</searchLink>. 2025, Vol. 22 Issue 22, p6811-6839. 29p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Timberline%22">Timberline</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Climate+change%22">Climate change</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ice+crystals%22">Ice crystals</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vegetation+dynamics%22">Vegetation dynamics</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ecosystem+dynamics%22">Ecosystem dynamics</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Taigas%22">Taigas</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Biodiversity+conservation%22">Biodiversity conservation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Species+distribution%22">Species distribution</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Russia%22">Russia</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Canada%22">Canada</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Northern+Hemisphere%22">Northern Hemisphere</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Treelines across the Northern Hemisphere are shifting upward and northward in response to global warming, particularly in boreal forests, where climate change progresses more rapidly at high elevations and latitudes. These shifts intensify competition for resources, threaten endemic alpine species, and disrupt established ecological relationships, leading to biodiversity loss. However, significant heterogeneity and regional variation exist in how treelines respond to environmental changes, with many underlying drivers and constraints still poorly understood. This study aims to enhance understanding of treeline dynamics at three alpine study sites – located in Canada, Russia, and Alaska – and to improve vegetation model predictions under changing climatic conditions. We evaluated the relative impact of key factors influencing treeline migration velocity and examined the effects of varying snow regimes on treeline migration within the alpine treeline ecotone. To achieve this, we incorporated a novel snow module into the vegetation model LAVESI (Larix Vegetation Simulator), enabling the integration of precipitation outside the growing season, snow accumulation, and snowmelt processes. This module allows for explicit modelling of the positive and negative impacts of snow depth on tree growth and treeline migration, while accounting for stochastically occurring extreme events and capturing full weather variability. Our findings reveal site-specific responses to factors driving treeline shifts and forest expansion, with localised conditions playing a critical role in shaping migration dynamics. The Canadian and the Russian sites demonstrate clear insights into primary migration drivers, while the high variability at the Alaskan site indicates more complex local dynamics and greater predictive uncertainty. The study highlights the significant role of snow in modulating migration potential, as snow accumulation creates favourable conditions for seedling germination and growth while also posing risks of increased mortality from snow loads or avalanches. These results underscore the importance of incorporating snow-related processes into vegetation models to improve the accuracy of predictions for boreal forest dynamics. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into tree migration processes, highlighting the varied predictability of treeline responses across regions. These findings carry significant implications for refining vegetation models and guiding conservation strategies to sustain alpine tundra resilience in the face of accelerating climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=enr&AN=189708982 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.5194/bg-22-6811-2025 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 29 StartPage: 6811 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Timberline Type: general – SubjectFull: Climate change Type: general – SubjectFull: Ice crystals Type: general – SubjectFull: Vegetation dynamics Type: general – SubjectFull: Ecosystem dynamics Type: general – SubjectFull: Taigas Type: general – SubjectFull: Biodiversity conservation Type: general – SubjectFull: Species distribution Type: general – SubjectFull: Russia Type: general – SubjectFull: Canada Type: general – SubjectFull: Northern Hemisphere Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The significant role of snow in shaping alpine treeline responses in modelled boreal forests. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Haupt, Sarah – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Gloy, Josias – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Farkas, Luca – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Schildt, Katharina – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Trimborn, Lisa – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Kruse, Stefan IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 15 M: 11 Text: 2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 17264170 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 22 – Type: issue Value: 22 Titles: – TitleFull: Biogeosciences Type: main |
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