Climate warming and introduced herbivores disrupt alpine plant community of an oceanic island (Tenerife, Canary Islands)
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Climate warming and introduced herbivores disrupt alpine plant community of an oceanic island (Tenerife, Canary Islands) J. L. Martı´n-Esquivel . M. Marrero-Go´mez J. M. Olano . M. del Arco
. J. Cubas
. J. M. Gonza´lez-Mancebo
.
Received: 28 March 2020 / Accepted: 31 July 2020 Ó Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Invasive alien species and climate change are two of the main current threats to conservation of biodiversity worldwide. Their effects have been extensively studied individually, but we know less about their combined effect. This study analyzes the population changes in the plant community of the high mountain legume shrub habitat of Tenerife over 10 years (between 2009 and 2018), using alien herbivore exclusion plots distributed over two sectors with different patterns of climate. Our outcomes show contrasting effects of herbivory and climate in plant communities, with significant shifts in community composition. The dominant species, Teide broom (Spartocytisus supranubius), is negatively affected by
Communicated by Scott J. Meiners. J. L. Martı´n-Esquivel M. Marrero-Go´mez National Park of Teide, Dr Sixto Perera Gonza´lez, 25, 38300 La Orotava, Canary Islands, Spain J. Cubas (&) J. M. Gonza´lez-Mancebo M. del Arco Plant Conservation and Biogeography Research Group, Departamento de Bota´nica, Ecologı´a y Fisiologı´a Vegetal, Universidad de La Laguna, Avda. Francisco Sa´nchez S/N, 38200 Apdo. 456 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain e-mail: [email protected] J. M. Olano ´ rea de Bota´nica, Departamento de Ciencias A Agroforestales, EU de Ingenierı´as Agrarias, iuFORUniversidad de Valladolid, Campus Duques de Soria, 42004 Soria, Spain
both climate and alien herbivores, leading to a regression of its abundance. In contrast, a formerly rare species, Pterocephalus lasiospermus, is benefiting from warmer temperatures and from herbivore presence owing to its low palatability. Simultaneously, some thermal native species from the neighboring pine forest are invading the alpine ecosystem. We conclude that the alpine habitat is changing very quickly and differently according to whether it is in warmer or colder sectors of the summit of Tenerife. This work reveals the need to simultaneously consider multiple drivers to understand the response of mountain ecosystems to global change. Keywords Climate change Ecosystem disturbance Herbivory High mountain Vegetation dynamic
Introduction The effects of climate change can be observed worldwide, and we know today that it will act as a major cause of extinctions in the near future (Thomas et al. 2004). Climate change is not spatially homogenous, since arctic, alpine and boreal ecosystems are expected to suffer stronger impacts (Thuiller 2007). In alpine habitats the warming signal is amplified with elevation; high mountain environments thus undergo
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Plant Ecol
more rapid temperature changes than lowlands (Pepin et al. 2015). This may be particularly dramatic for mountains on oceanic islands, with limited cap
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