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Implications of tree species – environment relationships for the responsiveness of Himalayan krummholz treelines to climate change

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Abstract

Climate warming is expected to advance treelines to higher elevations. However, empirical studies in diverse mountain ranges give evidence of both advancing alpine treelines as well as rather insignificant responses. In this context, we aim at investigating the sensitivity and responsiveness of the near-natural treeline ecotone in Rolwaling Himal, Nepal, to climate warming. We analysed population densities of tree species along the treeline ecotone from closed forest stands via the krummholz belt to alpine dwarf shrub heaths (3700-4200 m) at 50 plots in 2013 and 2014. We quantified species - environment relationships, i.e. the change of environmental conditions (e.g., nutrient and thermal deficits, plant interactions) across the ecotone by means of redundancy analyses, variation partitioning and distance-based Moran's eigenvector maps. In particular, we focus on explaining the high competitiveness of Rhododendron campanulatum forming a dense krummholz belt and on the implications for the responsiveness of Himalayan krummholz treelines to climate change. Results indicate that treeline trees in the ecotone show species-specific responses to the influence of environmental parameters, and that juvenile and adult tree responses are modulated by environmental constraints in differing intensity. Moreover, the species - environment relationships suggest that the investigated krummholz belt will largely prevent the upward migration of other tree species and thus constrain the future response of Himalayan krummholz treelines to climate warming.

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Acknowledgement

We thank Ram Bahadur, Simon Drollinger, Helge Heyken, Nina Kiese, Hanna Wanli and Ronja Wedegärtner for assistance in the field. We are grateful to Lena Geiger and Matthias Tetzlaff for providing HemiView data and to Lars Gerlitz for providing climate data. Thanks to Kathryn Leve and Claus Carstens for map preparation. We acknowledge Bijay Raj Subedi, Madan K. Suwal, Yadu Sapkota and Chandra Kanta Subedi for great support in logistics and administrative issues. We appreciated comments by two anonymous reviewers on an earlier version of the manuscript.

B. Bürzle was funded by Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. We are indebted to the German Research Foundation for funding (DFG, SCHI 436/14-1, BO 1333/4-1, SCHO 739/14-1), to Nepalese authorities for research permits and to the community in Rolwaling for friendly cooperation and hospitality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CEN Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Bundeßstraße 55, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Niels Schwab, Udo Schickhoff, Birgit Bürzle & Jürgen Böhner

  2. Department of Geosciences, Chair of Soil Science and Geomorphology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Michael Müller & Thomas Scholten

  3. Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology & Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, Katmandu

    Ram Prasad Chaudhary

  4. Biocentre Klein Flottbek, University of Hamburg, Ohnhorststr. 18, 22609, Hamburg, Germany

    Jens Oldeland

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  2. Udo Schickhoff
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  3. Birgit Bürzle
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Correspondence to Niels Schwab.

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http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1502-936X

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Electronic Supplementary Material: Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-4257-z.

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Schwab, N., Schickhoff, U., Bürzle, B. et al. Implications of tree species – environment relationships for the responsiveness of Himalayan krummholz treelines to climate change. J. Mt. Sci. 14, 453–473 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-4257-z

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