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Broadbent, A.A.D.* ; Bahn, M.* ; Pritchard, W.J.* ; Newbold, L.K.* ; Goodall, T.* ; Guinta, A.* ; Snell, H.S.K.* ; Cordero, I.* ; Michas, A. ; Grant, H.K.* ; Soto, D.X.* ; Kaufmann, R.* ; Schloter, M. ; Griffiths, R.I.* ; Bardgett, R.D.*

Shrub expansion modulates belowground impacts of changing snow conditions in alpine grasslands.

Ecol. Lett., DOI: 10.1111/ele.13903 (2021)
Postprint Research data DOI PMC
Open Access Gold (Paid Option)
Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag
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.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords Alpine Vegetation ; Belowground Ecosystem Functioning ; Biogeochemical Cycles ; Ericaceous ; Microbial Community ; Snow Cover ; Soil Microbiome ; Winter Climate Change; Soil Carbon; Tundra; Vegetation; Alps; Decomposition; Extraction; Chemistry; Responses; Forest
ISSN (print) / ISBN 1461-023X
e-ISSN 1461-0248
Journal Ecology Letters
Publisher Blackwell
Publishing Place Oxford
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis (COMI)
Grants Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Natural Environment Research Council