Shading contributes to Sphagnum decline in response to warming.

ABSTRACT: Experimental warming of an ombrotrophic bog in northern Minnesota has caused a rapid decline in the productivity and areal cover of Sphagnum mosses, affecting whole-ecosystem carbon balance and biogeochemistry. Direct effects of elevated temperature and the attendant drying are most likely the primary cause of the effects on Sphagnum, but there may also be responses to the increased shading from shrubs, which increased with increasing temperature. To evaluate the independent effects of reduction in light availability and deposition of shrub litter on Sphagnum productivity, small plots with shrubs removed were laid out adjacent to the warming experiment on hummocks and hollows in three blocks and with five levels of shading. Four plots were covered with neutral density

SUBMITTER: Norby RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10507575 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature