Abstract
Climate change could cause alpine treelines to shift in altitude or to change their
spatial pattern, but little is known about the drivers of treeline dynamics and
patterning. The position and patterns of tropical alpine treelines are generally
attributed to land use, especially burning. Species interactions, in particular
facilitation through shading, may also be important for treeline patterning and
dynamics. We studied how fire in alpine vegetation and shade dependence of trees
may affect the position and spatial pattern of tropical alpine treelines and their
response to climatic warming, using a spatial minimal model of tree growth at
treeline. Neighboring trees provided shade and protection from fire. The positive
feedback that resulted from these neighbor interactions strongly affected the
emergent treelines and always reduced the distance and speed of treeline advance
after a temperature increase. Our model demonstrated that next to fire, shade
dependence of trees can also lead to abrupt treelines and relatively low treeline
positions. This implies that these patterns do not necessarily indicate human
disturbance. Strong abruptness of a treeline may indicate that it will respond slowly
to climatic changes.
Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
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Pages (from-to) | 269-278 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
Volume | 40 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |