Shrubs: Ecology and Climate Change

North Slope of Alaska (USA), Denali NP (Alaska, USA), North Sweden (Abisko), North Finland (Kevo), South Norway (Finse), Faroe Islands, West Greenland

Can dendrochronology confirm differences (expansion/stagnation) of Arctic shrub expansion in Alaska? In our current study, shrub stems from paired expanding and stagnant shrub patches scattered across northern Alaska, from the western Noatak basin to the entire Colville basin, and over to the Haul Road, will be examined.

Are alpine shrubs in Scandinavia expanding, as well?
In the northern Scandes of Sweden, we assess shrub dynamics along elevational gradients and on different exposures for the dominating shrub species.

Shrubs and Trees – is there a competition for resources?

How do shrubs react to extreme events under controlled experiments (in cooperation with EVENT Experiments by University Bayreuth)? We plan to assess the influence of drought, freeze-thaw cycles and heavy rain on shrub anatomy.

Allan Buras, Jiri Lehejcek, Zuzana Michalova, Robert C. Morrissey, Miroslav Svoboda and Martin Wilmking (2017)
Shrubs shed light on 20th century Greenland Ice Sheet melting
Boreas: 1–11. DOI: 10.1111/bor.12244

Elena Pellizzari, J. Julio Camarero, Antonio Gazol, Elena Granda, Rohan Shetti, Martin Wilmking, Pavel Moiseev, Mario Pividori and Marco Carrer (2016)
Diverging shrub and tree growth from the Polar to the Mediterranean biomes across the European continent
Global Change Biology 23(8): 3169–3180.  DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13577

Ilka Beil, Allan Buras, Martin Hallinger, Marko Smiljanic and Martin Wilmking (2015)
Shrubs tracing sea surface temperature – Calluna vulgaris on the Faroe Islands
International Journal of Biometeorology 59(11): 1567–1575. DOI: 10.1007/s00484-015-0963-4

Isla Myers-Smith, Sarah C. Elmendorf, Pieter S.A. Beck, Martin Wilmking, Martin Hallinger, Daan Blok, Ken D. Tape, Shelly A. Rayback, Marc Macias-Fauria, Bruce C. Forbes, James D.M. Speed, Noémie Boulanger-Lapointe, Christian Rixen, Esther Lévesque, Niels Martin Schmidt, Claudia Baittinger, Andrew J. Trant, Luise Hermanutz, Laura Siegwart Collier, Melissa A. Dawes, Trevor Lantz, Stef Weijers, Rasmus Halfdan Jørgensen, Agata Buchwal, Allan Buras, Adam T. Naito, Virve Ravolainen, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Julia Wheeler, Sonja Wipf, Kevin Guay, David S. Hik and Mark Vellend (2015)
Climate sensitivity of shrub growth across the tundra biome
Nature climate change 5: 887–891. DOI: 10.1038/nclimate2697

Isla H. Myers-Smith, Martin Hallinger, Daan Blok, Ute Sass-Klaassen, Shelly A. Rayback, Stef Weijers, Andrew Trant, Adam T. Naito, Ken D. Tape, Sonja Wipf, Christian Rixen, Melissa A. Dawes, Julia Wheeler, Agata Buchwal, Claudia Baittinger, Marc Macias-Fauria, Bruce C. Forbes, Esther Lévesque, Noémie Boulanger-Lapointe, Ilka Beil, Virve Ravolainen and Martin Wilmking (2015)
Methods for measuring arctic and alpine shrub growth: A review
Earth-Science Reviews 140: 1–13. DOI: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2014.10.004

Allan Buras, Martin Hallinger and Martin Wilmking (2012)
Can shrubs help to reconstruct historical glacier retreats?
Environmental Research Letters 7(4): 1–8. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/7/4/044031

Ken D. Tape, Martin Hallinger, Jeffrey M. Welker and Roger W. Ruess (2012)
Landscape heterogeneity of shrub expansion in Arctic Alaska
Ecosystems 15(5): 711–724, ISSN: 1432–9840. DOI: 10.1007/s10021-012-9540-4

Martin Wilmking, Martin Hallinger, R. Van Bogaert, T. Kyncl, F. Babst, W. Hahne, G. Juday, M. de Luis, K. Novak and C. Völlm (2012)
Continuously missing outer rings in woody plants at their distributional margins
Dendrochronologia 30(3): 213–222. DOI: 10.1016/j.dendro.2011.10.001

Martin Hallinger and Martin Wilmking (2011)
No change without a cause – why climate change remains the most plausible reason for shrub growth dynamics in Scandinavia
New Phytologist 189(4): 902–908. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03624.x

Isla H. Myers-Smith, Bruce C. Forbes, Martin Wilmking, Martin Hallinger, Trevor Lantz, Daan Blok, Ken D. Tape, Marc Macias-Fauria, Ute Sass-Klaassen, Esther Lévesque, Stéphane Boudreau, Pascale Ropars, Luise Hermanutz, Andrew Trant, Laura Siegwart Collier, Stef Weijers, Jelte Rozema, Shelly A. Rayback, Niels Martin Schmidt, Gabriela Schaepman-Strub, Sonja Wipf, Christian Rixen, Cécile B. Ménard, Susanna Venn, Scott Goetz, Laia Andreu-Hayles, Sarah Elmendorf, Virve Ravolainen, Jeffrey Welker, Paul Grogan, Howard E. Epstein and David Hik (2011)
Shrub expansion in tundra ecosystems: Dynamics, impacts and research priorities
Environmental Research Letters 6(4). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/6/4/045509

Martin Hallinger, Michael Manthey and Martin Wilmking (2010)
Establishing a missing link: Warm summers and winter snow cover favour shrub expansion into alpine tundra in Scandinavia
New Phytologist 186(4): 890–899. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03223.x