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Thermal tolerance and growth responses to in situ soil water reductions among alpine plants
Background: Changes to precipitation patterns and warming temperatures are predicted to reduce the water available to Australian alpine plants during the growing season. Soil water deficits are likely to co-occur with frost extremes that are common throughout the year and heatwaves which are increasing in severity with ongoing climate change. Aims: We aimed to determine whether co-occurring reductions in soil moisture would affect the capacity of alpine plants to tolerate temperature extremes. Methods: We used small rainout shelters to impose a drought treatment in situ in the alpine zone, which chronically reduced soil moisture in plots of alpine plant species including evergreen shrubs, graminoids and perennial forbs. We determined photosynthetic freezing tolerance and heat tolerance during the growing season across 2 years, and measured plant growth, in response to the drought treatment. Results: Thermal tolerance was insensitive to chronically reduced soil moisture, and graminoids exhibited overall greater freezing and heat tolerance thresholds than other life forms. The drought treatment improved shrub growth, likely due to the amelioration of wind and the slightly warmer temperatures provided by the rainout shelters. Conclusion: We conclude that Australian alpine plants maintain high tolerances to both high- and low-temperature extremes during the growing season and are relatively robust to combined temperature extremes and reductions in near-surface soil moisture that are likely to occur with ongoing climate warming.
History
Journal
Plant Ecology and DiversityVolume
15Pagination
297-308Location
London, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1755-0874eISSN
1755-1668Language
EnglishPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalIssue
5-6Publisher
Taylor & FrancisUsage metrics
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Keywords
AlpineAustraliaAUSTRALIAclimate warmingCLIMATE-CHANGEdroughtDROUGHTELEVATIONFREEZING RESISTANCEfreezing toleranceFROST-RESISTANCEheat toleranceLife Sciences & BiomedicineMANIPULATIONPATTERNSPlant SciencesplantsScience & TechnologySTRESSVEGETATION13 Climate ActionSchool of Life and Environmental SciencesCentre for Integrative EcologyFaculty of Science Engineering and Built EnvironmentEcological Applications not elsewhere classifiedPlant BiologyEcology
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