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Review article2013Peer reviewed

Community and Ecosystem Responses to Elevational Gradients: Processes, Mechanisms, and Insights for Global Change

Sundqvist, Maja; Sanders, Nathan J.; Wardle, David

Abstract

Community structure and ecosystem processes often vary along elevational gradients. Their responses to elevation are commonly driven by changes in temperature, and many community- and ecosystem-level variables therefore frequently respond similarly to elevation across contrasting gradients. There are also many exceptions, sometimes because other factors such as precipitation can also vary with elevation. Given this complexity, our capacity to predict when and why the same variable responds differently among disparate elevational gradients is often limited. Furthermore, there is utility in using elevational gradients for understanding community and ecosystem responses to global climate change at much larger spatial and temporal scales than is possible through conventional ecological experiments. However, future studies that integrate elevational gradient approaches with experimental manipulations will provide powerful information that can improve predictions of climate change impacts within and across ecosystems.

Keywords

biotic interactions; diversity; nutrient cycling; mountains; warming experiments; fertilization

Published in

Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics
2013, volume: 44, pages: 261-280
Title: Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics
Publisher: ANNUAL REVIEWS, 4139 EL CAMINO WAY, PO BOX 10139, PALO ALTO, CA 94303-0897 USA

SLU Authors

Global goals (SDG)

SDG13 Climate action

UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110512-135750
  • ISBN: 978-0-8243-1444-6

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/54688