Biotic rescaling reveals importance of species interactions for variation in biodiversity responses to climate change.

ABSTRACT: Generality in understanding biodiversity responses to climate change has been hampered by substantial variation in the rates and even directions of response to a given change in climate. We propose that such context dependencies can be clarified by rescaling climate gradients in terms of the underlying biological processes, with biotic interactions as a particularly important process. We tested this rescaling approach in a replicated field experiment where entire montane grassland communities were transplanted in the direction of expected temperature and/or precipitation change. In line with earlier work, we found considerable variation across sites in community dynamics in response to climate change. However, these complex context dependencies could be substantially reduced or eliminated

SUBMITTER: Vandvik V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7502702 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature