Ecosystems at Glacier Margins Can Serve as Climate-Change Laboratories

Article Biodiversity Conservation

Plant phenological responses to experimental warming-A synthesis

Katharine L. Stuble et al.

Summary: The review of 70 studies involving 1226 observations of plant phenology under experimental warming shows that early-season phenophases of plants are advancing in response to warming, while late-season phenophases are marginally delaying. The magnitude of phenological shifts shows consistency across latitude, elevation, and habitat types, with nonnative annual plants showing a larger response to warming compared to native perennial plants. Experimental warming methods generally yield consistent plant phenological responses, but there are gaps in the literature for non-temperate ecosystems, late-season phenophases, annual plants, nonnative plants, and woody plants and grasses. Further studies should focus on setting up experiments in different biogeographic zones and measuring multiple plant phenophases to improve predictions of warming effects on phenology.

GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY (2021)

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Article Forestry

Is the modern-day dieback of yellow-cedar unprecedented?

B. Gaglioti et al.

Summary: Research in Southeast Alaska suggests that the majority of yellow-cedar snags that have lost their branches have stood for over 200 years, with some as old as 450 years, indicating dieback events occurred before 1880 and significant anthropogenic warming. The role of climate change in these earlier events requires further investigation.

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH (2021)

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Article Computer Science, Information Systems

The Retreat of Mountain Glaciers since the Little Ice Age: A Spatially Explicit Database

Silvio Marta et al.

Summary: Most mountain glaciers around the world have been retreating for over a century in response to climate change. This dataset provides spatially explicit information on the positions of glacier fronts since the Little Ice Age maxima, offering valuable insights into glacier retreat patterns and impacts on mountain ecosystems. The dataset includes historical archival records and covers 94 glacier fronts from all continents except Antarctica, spanning the past 190 years.

DATA (2021)

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Article Geosciences, Multidisciplinary