Spatiotemporal patterns of microclimatic buffering in relict alpine communities

Questions

In alpine landscapes, topography creates a mosaic of microclimatic niches that might prevent local extinctions, but the influence of this spatial heterogeneity on plant communities is largely unknown. Here we ask (1) how soil microclimatic variation is comparable at temporal and spatial scales, and (2) how such variation influences species composition and local extinctions in relict alpine communities.

Location

Picos de Europa National Park, northern Spain.

Methods

We resurveyed permanent plots in four alpine sites following the recording of soil temperatures (temporal survey) for 10 years. We then sampled the spatial variation in species composition and microclimatic temperatures in 80 plots around the permanent plots (spatial survey). We evaluated the variation of six microclimatic indices between the temporal and the spatial surveys, and calculated the temporal trends observed in species cover. We finally predicted local extinction rates under microclimatic scenarios based on the observed microclimate–community relations.

Results

Despite high interannual variation, we found a 10-year trend of temperature warming on (microridge) fellfields and (microvalley) snowbeds. Microclimatic variation was larger in space than in time, with little temperature variation in snowbeds and extreme low temperatures recorded in fellfields. Species composition was mainly influenced by growing degree days (GDD) and freezing degree days (FDD), which were both related to snow cover duration. Plant cover of 16 species (out of 36 frequent species) showed significant responses to microclimatic variation. Local extinctions were mainly predicted under relatively hotter and more freezing conditions.

Conclusions

Our results support the idea that microclimatic spatial heterogeneity can reduce the negative influence of climate change on alpine plant communities. However, a continuous reduction of snow cover will result in a tipping point beyond which the buffer effect of this spatial heterogeneity will not be effective in protected microsites, leading to community homogenization. This process may have started in relict alpine communities where species from snowy microclimates are being outcompeted by species adapted to below-zero winter temperatures.