Abstract

Experimental, latitudinal, and historical approaches have been used to explore and/or predict the effects of global change on biota, and each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. The weaknesses of these individual approaches can, potentially, be avoided by applying them simultaneously, but this is rarely done in global change research. Here, we explored the temporal and spatial variations in the leaf size and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of mountain birch (Betula pubescens var. pumila) in the Murmansk region of Russia, with the aim of verifying the predictions derived from the responses of these traits to experimental manipulations of abiotic drivers of global change. The examination of herbarium specimens revealed that leaf length increased during the 20th century, whereas the FA in the number of leaf teeth decreased, presumably reflecting an increase in the carbon and nitrogen availability to plants in that century. Along a northward latitudinal gradient, leaf length decreased whereas FA increased, presumably due to the poleward decreases in air temperature. The study site, collection year, and latitude explained a larger part of the leaf length variation in mountain birch relative to the variation in FA. Leaf length is likely a better indicator than FA in studies addressing global environmental change impacts on plant performance.

Highlights

  • Our environment is currently changing at an unprecedented rate

  • We explore naturally growing mountain birch (Betula pubescens var. pumila (L.) Govaerts) trees for both the temporal and spatial variation in two performance indices: leaf size and fluctuating asymmetry (FA hereafter)

  • We cannot exclude the possibility that the fivefold increase in nitrogen deposition that occurred in Europe between 1905 and 1995 [47] may have contributed to the soluble nitrogen deposition that occurred in Europe between 1905 and 1995 [47] may have increase in leaf length detected in herbarium specimens

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Summary

Introduction

Our environment is currently changing at an unprecedented rate. The increases in carbon dioxide (CO2 ) concentration and ambient temperature, along with changes in precipitation, are among the most pressing environmental challenges facing the world today [1]. Much effort has been expended on characterizing the impacts of abiotic drivers of global change on biota. Hundreds of experiments, conducted in venues ranging from small-sized chambers to large free-air facilities, have explored the effects of CO2 , temperature, and precipitation on multiple organisms [2,3,4,5]. Global change affects more than just individual species because it reshuffles ecological communities, changes their composition, and alters species interactions. The consequences of these processes are difficult to explore experimentally, but their impacts on study organisms can be taken into account using data obtained from the natural ecosystems present in different climates [6] to verify the results of manipulative studies

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