Forest microclimate dynamics drive plant responses to warming
Florian Zellweger | Pieter De Frenne | Jonathan Lenoir | Pieter Vangansbeke | Kris Verheyen | Markus Bernhardt-Römermann | Lander Baeten | Radim Hédl | Imre Berki | Jörg Brunet | Hans Van Calster | Markéta Chudomelová | Guillaume Decocq | Thomas Dirnböck | Tomasz Durak | Thilo Heinken | Bogdan Jaroszewicz | Martin Kopecký | František Máliš | Martin Macek | Marek Malicki | Tobias Naaf | Thomas A. Nagel | Adrienne Ortmann-Ajkai | Petr Petřík | Remigiusz Pielech | Kamila Reczyńska | Wolfgang Schmidt | Tibor Standovár | Krzysztof Świerkosz | Teleki Balázs | Ondřej Vild | Monika Wulf | David Coomes
English. Climate warming is causing a shift in biological communities in favor of warm-affinity species (i.e., thermophilization). Species responses often lag behind climate warming, but the reasons for such lags remain largely unknown. Here, we analyzed multidecadal understory microclimate dynamics in European forests and show that thermophilization and the climatic lag in forest plant communities are primarily controlled by microclimate. Increasing tree canopy cover reduces warming rates inside forests, but loss of canopy cover leads to increased local heat that exacerbates the disequilibrium between community responses and climate change. Reciprocal effects between plants and microclimates are key to understanding the response of forest biodiversity and functioning to climate and land-use changes.
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