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dc.contributor.authorPetit Bon, Matteo
dc.contributor.authorHansen, Brage Bremset
dc.contributor.authorLoonen, M. J. J. E
dc.contributor.authorPetraglia, Alessandro
dc.contributor.authorBråthen, Kari Anne
dc.contributor.authorBöhner, Hanna
dc.contributor.authorLayton-Matthews, Kate
dc.contributor.authorBeard, Karen H.
dc.contributor.authorLe Moullec, Mathilde
dc.contributor.authorJonsdottir, Ingibjorg Svala
dc.contributor.authorVan der Wal, René
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-28T06:57:55Z
dc.date.available2023-09-28T06:57:55Z
dc.date.issued2023-09-23
dc.description.abstract1. Given the current rates of climate change, with associated shifts in herbivore population densities, understanding the role of different herbivores in ecosystem functioning is critical for predicting ecosystem responses. Here, we examined how migratory geese and resident, non-migratory reindeer—two dominating yet functionally contrasting herbivores—control vegetation and ecosystem processes in rapidly warming Arctic tundra.<p> <p>2. We collected vegetation and ecosystem carbon (C) flux data at peak plant growing season in the two longest running, fully replicated herbivore removal experiments found in high-Arctic Svalbard. Experiments had been set up independently in wet habitat utilised by barnacle geese Branta leucopsis in summer and in moist-to-dry habitat utilised by wild reindeer Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus year-round. <p>3. Excluding geese induced vegetation state transitions from heavily grazed, mossdominated (only 4 g m<sup>−2</sup> of live above-ground vascular plant biomass) to ungrazed, graminoid-dominated (60 g m<sup>−2</sup> after 4-year exclusion) and horsetail-dominated (150 g m<sup>−2</sup> after 15-year exclusion) tundra. This caused large increases in vegetation C and nitrogen (N) pools, dead biomass and moss-layer depth. Alterations in plant N concentration and CN ratio suggest overall slower plant community nutrient dynamics in the short-term (4-year) absence of geese. Long-term (15-year) goose removal quadrupled net ecosystem C sequestration (NEE) by increasing ecosystem photosynthesis more than ecosystem respiration (ER). <p>4. Excluding reindeer for 21 years also produced detectable increases in live aboveground vascular plant biomass (from 50 to 80 g m<sup>−2</sup>; without promoting vegetation state shifts), as well as in vegetation C and N pools, dead biomass, moss-layer depth and ER. Yet, reindeer removal did not alter the chemistry of plants and soil or NEE. <p>5. Synthesis. Although both herbivores were key drivers of ecosystem structure and function, the control exerted by geese in their main habitat (wet tundra) was much more pronounced than that exerted by reindeer in their main habitat (moist-todry tundra). Importantly, these herbivore effects are scale dependent, because geese are more spatially concentrated and thereby affect a smaller portion of the tundra landscape compared to reindeer. Our results highlight the substantial heterogeneity in how herbivores shape tundra vegetation and ecosystem processes, with implications for ongoing environmental change.en_US
dc.identifier.citationPetit Bon M, Hansen BB, Loonen MJJE, Petraglia A, Bråthen KA, Böhner H, Layton-Matthews K, Beard KH, Le Moullec M, Jonsdottir IS, Van der Wal R. Long-term herbivore removal experiments reveal how geese and reindeer shape vegetation and ecosystem CO<sub>2</sub>-fluxes in high-Arctic tundra. Journal of Ecology. 2023en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 2179267
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/1365-2745.14200
dc.identifier.issn0022-0477
dc.identifier.issn1365-2745
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/31258
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherWileyen_US
dc.relation.journalJournal of Ecology
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccessen_US
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2023 The Author(s)en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_US
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)en_US
dc.titleLong-term herbivore removal experiments reveal how geese and reindeer shape vegetation and ecosystem CO2-fluxes in high-Arctic tundraen_US
dc.type.versionpublishedVersionen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen_US
dc.typePeer revieweden_US


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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Med mindre det står noe annet, er denne innførselens lisens beskrevet som Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)