Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2025
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E101
Höfundar / Authors: Axel Ingi Einarsson (1), Ian Edward Klupar (1), Alejandro Salazar Villegas (2), Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir (1)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Háskóli Íslands, 2. Landbúnaðarháskóli Íslands
Kynnir / Presenter: Axel Ingi Einarsson
The Arctic is warming around three to four times faster than the rest of the globe leading to visible ecosystem changes such as Arctic greening and browning, showcasing shifts in plant community composition. Those shifts are accompanied by changes to community functional trait composition which influences any associated ecosystem processes. Warming can shift trait composition toward either resource acquisition or conservation, depending on factors such as land use. Understanding the influence of warming on functional traits, ecosystem processes and their relationship is critical in predicting ecosystem responses to climate change. This study explores the relationship between community-weighted plant function traits and ecosystem processes, and how warming and grazing may alter the relationship. To address this, we used the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) site at Auðkúluheiði in the Icelandic highlands, where a fence excludes grazing and warming has been simulated for almost 30 years with Open-Top Chambers (OTCs). Community composition was measured using the Point-intercept method. Ecosystem processes (carbon-fluxes, primary productivity and decomposition) were measured and functional traits (height, leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen- and carbon content) sampled. Preliminary results will be presented showing how traits and ecosystem processes have been modified by warming and grazing.