Sufficient conditions for rapid range expansion of a boreal conifer.

ABSTRACT: Unprecedented modern rates of warming are expected to advance boreal forest into Arctic tundra¹, thereby reducing albedo^2-4, altering carbon cycling⁴ and further changing climate^1-4, yet the patterns and processes of this biome shift remain unclear⁵. Climate warming, required for previous boreal advances^6-17, is not sufficient by itself for modern range expansion of conifers forming forest-tundra ecotones^{5,12-15,17-20}. No high-latitude population of conifers, the dominant North American Arctic treeline taxon, has previously been documented⁵ advancing at rates following the last glacial maximum (LGM)^6-8. Here we describe a population of white spruce (Picea glauca) advancing at post-LGM rates

SUBMITTER: Dial RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9385489 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature