The ecosystems studied in this comparative project are located in low arctic (Sermilik) and high arctic (Zackenberg) regions, which are expected to undergo severe climatic changes in the coming decades (IPCC 2007; Meltofte et al. 2008). The climatic change models indicate there will be larger percentage of precipitation falling as rain, along with an increase in snow depth in the northern half and a decrease in the southern half of Greenland (ACIA 2005; Stendel et al 2008). These changes in precipitation and snow accumulation regimes will have a marked effect on plant communities in the ecosystems studied, such as altering the effects of plant-plant interactions. Hence, it is important to understand what the roles of facilitative and competitive interactions are and what processes control them in the high and low Arctic. Primary succession gradients following glacier retreat and the altitudinal gradients with varying snow depth offer a great opportunity to comparatively investigate these issues in NE and SW Greenland. By gaining insight into this subject we will provide some knowledge to better predict some of the potential effects of climatic changes on arctic vegetation with regard to plant species interactions in the low and high Arctic.
In addition, there is still very little knowledge on plant ecology at Sermilik and generally on the vegetation occurring along primary succession gradients in Greenland, so it will be a great chance to further develop this scientific field in this region.
Our research objectives are:
1. Analyse the role of distinct selected micro-patches which dominate the ground layer (consisting of different dwarf shrubs, cryptogam carpets, and bare ground) in plant recruitment, species diversity and co-occurrence in several plant communities along (i) a primary succession gradient (following glacier retreat) and (ii) an altitudinal gradient near Sermilik research station.
2. Compare the results obtained with the data collected at Zackenberg in summer 2010, where we analysed the role of distinct selected micro-patches (
and absence of vascular vegetation) in plant recruitment, species diversity and co-occurrence in several plant communities along an altitudinal gradient with decreasing snow cover.
3. Infer how the distinct predicted climatic scenarios affecting snow accumulation in the low and the high Arctic may potentially affect plant-plant interactions in the studied ecosystems in both study regions.
Grau, O.; Geml, J.; Pérez-Haase, A.; Ninot, J.M.; Semenova, T.; Peñuelas, J. 2017
Abrupt changes in the composition and function of fungal communities along an environmental gradient in the High Arctic.Molecular Ecology, 26 (18): 4798-4810. DOI: 10.1111/mec.14227
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Grau, O.; Ninot, J.M.; Pérez-Haase, A.; Callaghan, T.V. 2014
Plant co-existence patterns and High-Arctic vegetation composition in three common plant communities in north-east Greenland.Polar Research 33, 19235. http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/polar.v33.19235
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