Tundra Vegetation Community Type, Not Microclimate, Controls Asynchrony of Above- and Below-Ground Phenology.

ABSTRACT: The below-ground growing season often extends beyond the above-ground growing season in tundra ecosystems and as the climate warms, shifts in growing seasons are expected. However, we do not yet know to what extent, when and where asynchrony in above- and below-ground phenology occurs and whether variation is driven by local vegetation communities or spatial variation in microclimate. Here, we combined above- and below-ground plant phenology metrics to compare the relative timings and magnitudes of leaf and fine-root growth and senescence across microclimates and plant communities at five sites across the Arctic and alpine tundra biome. We observed asynchronous growth between above- and below-ground plant tissue, with the below-ground season extending up to 74% (~56 days) beyond the onset

SUBMITTER: Gallois EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11964126 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature