High-latitude Plants Research Articles

Geographic variation in leaf traits and palatability of a native plant invader during domestic expansion.

Like alien plant invasion, range expansion of native plants may threaten biodiversity and economies, rendering them native invaders. Variation in abiotic and biotic conditions across a large geographic scale greatly affects variation in traits and interactions with herbivores of native plant invaders, which is an interesting yet mostly unexplored issue. We used a common garden experiment to compare defensive/nutritional traits and palatability to generalist herbivores of 20 native (23.64° N-30.18° N) and introduced range (31.58° N-36.87° N) populations of Reynoutria japonica, which is a native invader following range expansion in China. We analyzed the relationships among herbivore pressure, climate, plant chloroplast haplotypes, leaf traits, and herbivore performance. Of the 16 variables tested, we observed range differences in 11 variables and latitudinal clines in nine variables. In general, herbivores performed better on the introduced plants than on the native plants, and better on the high-latitude plants than on the low-latitude plants within the introduced populations. Three key traits (leaf thickness, specific leaf area, and carbon-to-nitrogen [C:N] ratio) determined palatability to herbivores and were significantly associated with temperature and/or precipitation of plant provenance as well as with plant haplotypes but not with herbivore pressure. Our results revealed a causal sequence from plant-range-based environmental forces and genetic context to plant quality and palatability to herbivores in R. japonica. These findings suggest a post-introduction evolution of R. japonica, which may partly explain the colonization success of this important native, but invasive plant.

Latitudinal gradients in the phylogenetic assembly of angiosperms in Asia during the Holocene

Spatio-temporal assessment of phylogenetic diversity gradients during the Holocene (past 12,000 years) provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of the dynamics of species co-occurrence patterns under environmental fluctuations. Using two robust metrics of phylogenetic dispersion (PD) and 99 fossil pollen sequences containing 6557 samples/assemblages, we analyse spatio-temporal variation in PD of angiosperms and its relationship with Holocene climate in central Asia. Overall, PD throughout the Holocene decreases linearly with increasing latitude, except for a rise in mean nearest taxon distance from ca. 25 to 35° N. This indicates that phylogenetically divergent taxa decrease progressively with increasing latitude, leaving more phylogenetically closely related taxa in the assemblages, thereby increasing phylogenetic relatedness among the co-occurring taxa. The latitudinal gradient of PD has not been consistent during the Holocene, and this temporal variation is concordant with the Holocene climate dynamics. In general, profound temporal changes in the latitudinal PD toward higher latitudes implies that the major environmental changes during the Holocene have driven considerable spatio-temporal changes in the phylogenetic assembly of high-latitude angiosperm assemblages. Our results suggest that environmental filtering and the tendency of taxa and lineages to retain ancestral ecological features and geographic distributions (phylogenetic niche conservatism) are the main mechanisms underlying the phylogenetic assembly of angiosperms along the climate-latitudinal gradient. Ongoing environmental changes may pose future profound phylogenetic changes in high-latitude plant assemblages, which are adapted to harsh environmental conditions, and therefore are phylogenetically less dispersed (more conservative or clustered).

Plant physical defenses contribute to a latitudinal gradient in resistance to insect herbivory within a widespread perennial grass.

Herbivore pressure can vary across the range of a species, resulting in different defensive strategies. If herbivory is greater at lower latitudes, plants may be better defended there, potentially driving a latitudinal gradient in defense. However, relationships that manifest across the entire range of a species may be confounded by differences within genetic subpopulations, which may obscure the drivers of these latitudinal gradients. We grew plants of the widespread perennial grass Panicum virgatum in a common garden that included genotypes from three genetic subpopulations spanning an 18.5° latitudinal gradient. We then assessed defensive strategies of these plants by measuring two physical resistance traits-leaf mass per area (LMA) and leaf ash, a proxy for silica-and multiple measures of herbivory by caterpillars of the generalist herbivore fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). Across all genetic subpopulations, low-latitude plants experienced less herbivory than high-latitude plants. Within genetic subpopulations, however, this relationship was inconsistent-the most widely distributed and phenotypically variable subpopulation (Atlantic) exhibited more consistent latitudinal trends than either of the other two subpopulations. The two physical resistance traits, LMA and leaf ash, were both highly heritable and positively associated with resistance to different measures of herbivory across all subpopulations, indicating their importance in defense against herbivores. Again, however, these relationships were inconsistent within subpopulations. Defensive gradients that occur across the entire species range may not arise within localized subpopulations. Thus, identifying the drivers of latitudinal gradients in herbivory defense may depend on adequately sampling the diversity within a species.

Seasonal photosynthesis and respiration dynamics of Pinus sibirica latitudinal ecotypes: ex situ study

Photosynthesis and respiration are temperature dependent processes. Therefore, it is important to understand how the physiological processes of photosynthesis and respiration will respond to climate change in the future. Seasonal carbon dioxide gas exchange of vegetative scion Siberian stone pine ecotypes (Pinus sibirica Du Tour) of latitudinal transect grown in the scientific station “Kedr” in the south of the Tomsk region were studied. The latitudinal transect was represented by two ecotypes: the southern ecotype (Tomsk) and the northern ecotype (Urengoy). The age of the grafted trees was 26 years. Apparent uptake of CO2 of the southern ecotype began a week earlier than the one of the southern ecotype, when the needle length reached 35 and 40 % of the final length of the southern and southern ecotypes, respectively. Photosynthesis reaches its maximum values when the needle length was 45-52 % of the final length of both ecotypes. The carbon dioxide assimilation rate of the southern ecotype remained high until the second decade of July, then its intensity decreased. Photosynthetic rate of the southern ecotype decreased in early August. In fully developed needles, the photosynthetic intensity between ecotypes did not differ significantly. The dark respiration of both ecotypes was maximum at the beginning of needle growth, then decreased significantly, was almost constant in July, and had minimum values at the end of the growing season. At the initial growth stages the needles of the southern ecotype had high values of dark respiration, which was 2 times higher than that of the southern ecotype. In the growth process by the first ten days of
 July, the differences between ecotypes were practically leveled. Subsequently, the dark respiration of the southern ecotype became 2 times higher than that of the southern one, however, it remained low compared to the initial stages of needle growth. The respiration of needle finished growing decreased by 8-10 times. The negative balance between photosynthesis and respiration of both ecotypes maintained until the needle length exceed 40 % and 35 % of the final length in the northern and southern ecotypes, respectively. Positive balance CO2 was observed when the needle length reached 45 % in the northern and 52 % in the southern ecotypes. During the summer months the CO2 balance was significantly higher for the Tomsk ecotype. In September and October the CO2 balance of the northern ecotype became lower than of one the southern one due to increased part of respiration of gas exchange. We believe that the high respiratory intensity of the Siberian stone pine northern ecotype is hereditary, therefore significant respiratory costs will have negative impact the productivity of high latitude plants and their adaptation to climate warming.

Leaf-level chlorophyll fluorescence and reflectance spectra of high latitude plants

Little is known about the chlorophyll fluorescence spectra for high latitude plants. A FluoWat leaf clip was used to measure leaf-level reflectance and chlorophyll fluorescence spectra of leaves of common high latitude plants to examine general spectral characteristics of these species. Fluorescence yield (Fyield) was calculated as the ratio of the emitted fluorescence divided by the absorbed radiation for the wavelengths from 400 nm up to the wavelength of the cut-off for the FluoWat low pass filter (either 650 or 700 nm). The Fyield spectra grouped into distinctly different patterns among different plant functional types. Black spruce (Picea mariana) Fyield spectra had little red fluorescence, which was reabsorbed in the shoot, but displayed a distinct far-red peak. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) had both high red and far-red Fyield peaks, as did sweet coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus). Cotton grass (Eriophorum spp.) had both red and far-red Fyield peaks, but these peaks were much lower than for aspen or coltsfoot. Sphagnum moss (Sphagnum spp.) had a distinct Fyield red peak but low far-red fluorescence. Reindeer moss lichen (Cladonia rangiferina) had very low fluorescence levels, although when damp displayed a small red Fyield peak. These high latitude vegetation samples showed wide variations in Fyield spectral shapes. The Fyield values for the individual red or far-red peaks were poorly correlated to chlorophyll content, however the ratio of far-red to red Fyield showed a strong correlation with chlorophyll content. The spectral variability of these plants may provide information for remote sensing of vegetation type but may also confound attempts to measure high latitude vegetation biophysical characteristics and function using solar induced fluorescence (SIF).

Nitrogen restricts future sub-arctic treeline advance in an individual-based dynamic vegetation model

Abstract. Arctic environmental change induces shifts in high-latitude plant community composition and stature with implications for Arctic carbon cycling and energy exchange. Two major components of change in high-latitude ecosystems are the advancement of trees into tundra and the increased abundance and size of shrubs. How future changes in key climatic and environmental drivers will affect distributions of major ecosystem types is an active area of research. Dynamic vegetation models (DVMs) offer a way to investigate multiple and interacting drivers of vegetation distribution and ecosystem function. We employed the LPJ-GUESS tree-individual-based DVM over the Torneträsk area, a sub-arctic landscape in northern Sweden. Using a highly resolved climate dataset to downscale CMIP5 climate data from three global climate models and two 21st-century future scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5), we investigated future impacts of climate change on these ecosystems. We also performed model experiments where we factorially varied drivers (climate, nitrogen deposition and [CO2]) to disentangle the effects of each on ecosystem properties and functions. Our model predicted that treelines could advance by between 45 and 195 elevational metres by 2100, depending on the scenario. Temperature was a strong driver of vegetation change, with nitrogen availability identified as an important modulator of treeline advance. While increased CO2 fertilisation drove productivity increases, it did not result in range shifts of trees. Treeline advance was realistically simulated without any temperature dependence on growth, but biomass was overestimated. Our finding that nitrogen cycling could modulate treeline advance underlines the importance of representing plant–soil interactions in models to project future Arctic vegetation change.

Monitoring Changes to Arctic Vegetation and Glaciers at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Based on Time Series Remote Sensing

Climate change has profoundly affected global ecological security. The most vulnerable region on Earth is the high-latitude Arctic. Identifying the changes in vegetation coverage and glaciers in high-latitude Arctic coastal regions is important for understanding the process and impact of global climate change. Ny-Ålesund, the northern-most human settlement, is typical of these coastal regions and was used as a study site. Vegetation and glacier changes over the past 35 years were studied using time series remote sensing data from Landsat 5/7/8 acquired in 1985, 1989, 2000, 2011, 2015 and 2019. Site survey data in 2019, a digital elevation model from 2009 and meteorological data observed from 1985 to 2019 were also used. The vegetation in the Ny-Ålesund coastal zone showed a trend of declining and then increasing, with a breaking point in 2000. However, the area of vegetation with coverage greater than 30% increased over the whole study period, and the wetland moss area also increased, which may be caused by the accelerated melting of glaciers. Human activities were responsible for the decline in vegetation cover around Ny-Ålesund owing to the construction of the town and airport. Even in areas with vegetation coverage of only 13%, there were at least five species of high-latitude plants. The melting rate of five major glaciers in the study area accelerated, and approximately 82% of the reduction in glacier area occurred after 2000. The elevation of the lowest boundary of the five glaciers increased by 50–70 m. The increase in precipitation and the average annual temperature after 2000 explains the changes in both vegetation coverage and glaciers in the study period.

Seeds and Seedlings in a Changing World: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis from High Altitude and High Latitude Ecosystems.

The early life-history stages of plants, such as germination and seedling establishment, depend on favorable environmental conditions. Changes in the environment at high altitude and high latitude regions, as a consequence of climate change, will significantly affect these life stages and may have profound effects on species recruitment and survival. Here, we synthesize the current knowledge of climate change effects on treeline, tundra, and alpine plants’ early life-history stages. We systematically searched the available literature on this subject up until February 2020 and recovered 835 potential articles that matched our search terms. From these, we found 39 studies that matched our selection criteria. We characterized the studies within our review and performed a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the extracted meta-data regarding the climatic effects likely to change in these regions, including projected warming, early snowmelt, changes in precipitation, nutrient availability and their effects on seed maturation, seed dormancy, germination, seedling emergence and seedling establishment. Although the studies showed high variability in their methods and studied species, the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the extracted data allowed us to detect existing patterns and knowledge gaps. For example, warming temperatures seemed to favor all studied life stages except seedling establishment, a decrease in precipitation had a strong negative effect on seed stages and, surprisingly, early snowmelt had a neutral effect on seed dormancy and germination but a positive effect on seedling establishment. For some of the studied life stages, data within the literature were too limited to identify a precise effect. There is still a need for investigations that increase our understanding of the climate change impacts on high altitude and high latitude plants’ reproductive processes, as this is crucial for plant conservation and evidence-based management of these environments. Finally, we make recommendations for further research based on the identified knowledge gaps.

Plasticity and selection drive hump-shaped latitudinal patterns of flowering phenology in an invasive intertidal plant.

Patterns of flowering phenology can affect the success of plant invasions, especially when introduced species spread across a wide range of latitude into different climatic conditions. We combined a 4-yr field survey and a 3-yr common garden experiment with the invasive grass Spartina alterniflora that is now widespread along the coast of China to document the latitudinal pattern of flowering phenology, determine if phenology was related to climate or oceanographic variables, and determine whether phenology patterns were fixed versus plastic. In the field, first flowering day displayed a hump-shaped relationship with latitude, with low- and high-latitude plants flowering 100d and 10d earlier than plants at middle latitudes, respectively. Peak flowering day showed a similar hump-shaped relationship with latitude, with the interval between first and peak flowering day decreasing with increasing latitude. First flowering day had a hump-shaped relationship with annual growing degree days but a linear positive relationship with tidal range. In the common garden, first flowering day decreased linearly with increasing latitude of origin, as did peak flowering day, and the interval between first and peak flowering day increased with increasing latitude. First flowering day in the common garden had weak or no relationships with abiotic variables at the sites of origin. In both the field and common garden, first flowering day was later in site years for which plants were taller. These results indicate a high degree of plasticity in flowering phenology, with plants flowering later in the field at sites with intermediate temperatures and high tide ranges. Common garden results indicate some selection for earlier flowering at sites with low temperatures, consistent with a shorter growing season. Consistent with life-history theory, plants flowered later under conditions favoring vigorous growth. Earlier flowering and smaller size of plants at high and low latitudes suggests that S. alterniflora has already occupied much of the geographic range favorable for it on the East Coast of Asia.

Insect herbivory dampens Subarctic birch forest C sink response to warming

Climate warming is anticipated to make high latitude ecosystems stronger C sinks through increasing plant production. This effect might, however, be dampened by insect herbivores whose damage to plants at their background, non-outbreak densities may more than double under climate warming. Here, using an open-air warming experiment among Subarctic birch forest field layer vegetation, supplemented with birch plantlets, we show that a 2.3 °C air and 1.2 °C soil temperature increase can advance the growing season by 1–4 days, enhance soil N availability, leaf chlorophyll concentrations and plant growth up to 400%, 160% and 50% respectively, and lead up to 122% greater ecosystem CO2 uptake potential. However, comparable positive effects are also found when insect herbivory is reduced, and the effect of warming on C sink potential is intensified under reduced herbivory. Our results confirm the expected warming-induced increase in high latitude plant growth and CO2 uptake, but also reveal that herbivorous insects may significantly dampen the strengthening of the CO2 sink under climate warming.

Early Paleogene climate at mid latitude in South America: Mineralogical and paleobotanical proxies from continental sequences in Golfo San Jorge basin (Patagonia, Argentina)

The Paleocene-Eocene boundary was a period of transient and intense global warming that had a deep effect on middle and high latitude plant groups. Nevertheless, only scarce early Paleogene paleoclimatic records are known from the South American continental sequences deposited at these latitudes. In this contribution clay mineralogy and paleobotanical analyses (fossil woods and phytoliths) were used as paleoclimate proxies from the lower and middle parts of the Rio Chico Group (Golfo San Jorge basin, Patagonia, Argentina). These new data may enable to understand the changing climatic conditions during part of the Paleocene-Eocene transition. In this setting, three clay mineral assemblages were identified: S1 assemblage (smectite) dominates the Penas Coloradas Formation; S2 assemblage (smectitegt;kaolinite) occurs in the stratigraphic transition to the Las Flores Formation; and S3 assemblage (kaolinitegt;smectite) dominates the Las Flores Formation. These trend of change in the detrital clay mineral composition is interpreted as resulting mainly from the changing paleoclimatic conditions that shifted from seasonal warm temperate to tropical affecting the same source area lithology. Moreover, the paleobotanical data suggest that the Early Paleogene vegetation in the Golfo San Jorge basin underwent significant composition and diversity changes, ranging from mixed temperate - subtropical forest to mixed subtropical - tropical, humid forest. The integrated analysis of the clay mineral composition and the palaeobotanical assemblages suggests that, in central Argentinean Patagonia, the Paleocene-Eocene climate changed from temperate warm, humid and highly seasonal precipitation conditions to subtropical-tropical, more continuous year-round rainfall conditions.

Ancient environmental DNA reveals shifts in dominant mutualisms during the late\xa0Quaternary

DNA-based snapshots of ancient vegetation have shown that the composition of high-latitude plant communities changed considerably during the late Quaternary. However, parallel changes in biotic interactions remain largely uninvestigated. Here we show how mutualisms involving plants and heterotrophic organisms varied during the last 50,000 years. During 50–25 ka BP, a cool period featuring stadial-interstadial fluctuations, arbuscular mycorrhizal and non-N-fixing plants predominated. During 25-15 ka BP, a cold, dry interval, the representation of ectomycorrhizal, non-mycorrhizal and facultatively mycorrhizal plants increased, while that of N-fixing plants decreased further. From 15 ka BP, which marks the transition to and establishment of the Holocene interglaciation, representation of arbuscular mycorrhizal plants decreased further, while that of ectomycorrhizal, non-mycorrhizal, N-fixing and wind-pollinated plants increased. These changes in the mutualist trait structure of vegetation may reflect responses to historical environmental conditions that are without current analogue, or biogeographic processes, such as spatial decoupling of mutualist partners.

Drivers of high-latitude plant diversity hotspots and their congruence

Determining the drivers, patterns and hotspots of biodiversity can be of critical importance in supporting regional conservation planning. However, as biodiversity hotspots can be described with several different metrics, it is important to investigate their congruence as well as the spatial overlap of hotspots with protected areas. Here, by using extensive data on climate, topography, soil characteristics and vascular plants combined with boosted regression tree models, we determine the patterns and key drivers of plant diversity hotspots along broad environmental gradients in northernmost Europe spanning from taiga landscapes to treeless tundra. We assess plant diversity with four metrics – species richness, range-rarity richness, threatened species richness, and local contribution to beta diversity – and examine their congruence with each other as well as with contemporary conservation areas.We found that climate plays an important role in governing species diversity, though topo-edaphic are highlighted alongside climatic predictors in determining the diversity patterns of many threatened, near-threatened, and range-restricted species. Importantly, the different diversity metrics have contrasting drivers and, overall, their hotspots have low congruence. Furthermore, existing protected areas appear to offer limited coverage for hotspots of vascular plant diversity.Modelling the various facets of diversity and their drivers, such as the topo-edaphic setting, may provide useful information to help conserve diversity in a changing climate. Projected patterns of different aspects of diversity and their congruency can provide insights into the processes underlying biodiversity and be employed to assess the representativeness of protected area networks.

Potential for biotic resistance from herbivores to tropical and subtropical plant invasions in aquatic ecosystems

Invasions of tropical and subtropical aquatic plants threaten biodiversity and cause ecological and economic impacts worldwide. An urgent question is whether native herbivores are able to inhibit the spread of these alien species thus providing biotic resistance. The potential for biotic resistance to these plants depends on plant traits that affect palatability to herbivores, i.e., plant nutritional quality and the presence of secondary metabolites related to anti-herbivory defenses. Studies across latitudinal gradients suggest that aquatic plants from lower latitudes may be less nutritious and better defended than high latitude plants. Therefore, we hypothesized that native herbivores prefer temperate plants over plants from tropical and subtropical regions which would limit the strength of biotic resistance that native temperate herbivores can provide against alien tropical and subtropical plants. Drawing upon the published literature we (1) investigated whether native temperate herbivores reduce the establishment or performance of tropical and subtropical alien plants in the field, and (2) analyzed herbivore consumption of tropical and subtropical versus temperate plants in laboratory feeding trials. In our literature survey, we found only three field studies which, in contrast to our hypothesis, all demonstrated that the native herbivores (beavers, coots or generalist insect herbivores) significantly reduced the success of invading tropical and subtropical plant species. The analysis of the feeding trials yielded mixed results. Ten out of twelve feeding trials showed that (sub)tropical and temperate plants were consumed in equal amounts by both temperate and tropical generalist ectothermic herbivores. The remaining trials showed higher consumption rate of both temperate and tropical plants by tropical snails. Although a body of evidence suggests that tropical plants are nutritionally poor and better defended (i.e., less palatable) compared to temperate plants, we conclude that in the majority of cases, herbivores would eat tropical plants as much as temperate plants. Thus, in agreement with the available field studies, evidence suggests that there is potential for biotic resistance from native generalist herbivores to tropical invasive plants in non-tropical areas.

Photoprotective response to chilling differs among high and low latitude Larrea divaricata grown in a common garden

Cold temperatures can cause imbalances between light absorption and photosynthetic light utilization, with potential negative consequences for leaf function. Consequently, in response to chilling evergreens typically exhibit increased total pools of photoprotective xanthophyll cycle pigments and greater nocturnal retention of energy dissipating forms. This may preclude opportunistic responses to transient warmer temperatures, however, and become less beneficial as cold spells become rare and/or short-lived, for example, at the low latitude edges of warm deserts. Thus, we hypothesized intrinsic differences in the photoprotective response to chilling between low and high latitude populations of the widespread warm desert evergreen shrub Larrea divaricata. We determined leaf pigment compositions for high and low latitude plants grown in a common garden before and after 7 days of chilling (12/1 °C day/night). High and low latitude plants differed in pigment composition before chilling, and plants from both populations adjusted pigment compositions in response to chilling. Chilling, however, induced significantly greater nocturnal retention of xanthophyll cycle pigments as zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin in high latitude plants compared to those from low latitude. These data provide strong evidence for intrinsic differences between high and low latitude populations in their photoprotective responses to both the greenhouse growth environment and to chilling.

Freezing regime and trade‐offs with water transport efficiency generate variation in xylem structure across diploid populations of Larrea sp. (Zygophyllaceae)

The impact of changing temperature regime on plant distributions may depend on the nature of physiological variation among populations. The arid-land genus Larrea spans habitats with a range of freezing frequency in North and South America. We hypothesized that variation in xylem anatomy among populations and species within this genus is driven by plasticity and trade-offs between safety from freeze-thaw embolism and water transport efficiency. We measured vessel density and diameter distributions to predict freeze-thaw embolism and water transport capacity for high and low latitude populations of three Larrea species grown in the field and a greenhouse common garden. Among field-grown L. divaricata, low latitude plants had larger mean vessel diameter and greater predicted freeze-thaw embolism, but higher water transport capacity compared with high latitude plants. Though high latitude L. tridentata and L. nitida had abundant smaller vessels, these plants also produced very large vessels and had semi ring-porous wood structure. Thus, their predicted embolism and water transport capacity were comparable to those of low latitude plants. Differences among field-grown and common-garden-grown plants demonstrate that plasticity contributes to population differentiation in xylem characters, though high latitude L. divaricata exhibited relatively lower plasticity. Our results indicate that a trade-off between transport safety and efficiency contributes substantially to variation in xylem structure within the genus Larrea. In addition, we suggest that xylem plasticity may play a role in negotiating these trade-offs, with implications for responses to future climate change.

Environmental controls on the 2H/1H values of terrestrial leaf waxes in the eastern Canadian Arctic

The hydrogen isotope composition of plant waxes preserved in lacustrine sediments is a potentially valuable tool for reconstructing paleoenvironmental changes in the Arctic. However, in contrast to the mid- and low-latitudes, significantly less effort has been directed towards understanding the factors controlling D/H fractionation in high latitude plant waxes and the impact of these processes on the interpretation of sedimentary leaf wax δD records. To better understand these processes, we examined the D/H ratios of long chain fatty acids in lake surface sediments spanning a temperature and precipitation gradient on Baffin Island in the eastern Canadian Arctic. D/H ratios of plant waxes increase with increasing temperature and aridity, with values ranging from −240‰ to −160‰ over the study area. Apparent fractionation factors between n-alkanoic acids in Arctic lake sediments and precipitation(εFA-ppt) are less negative than those of mid-latitude lakes and modern plants by 25‰ to 65‰, consistent with n-alkane data from modern Arctic plants (Yang et al., 2011). Furthermore, εFA-ppt values from Arctic lakes become systematically more positive with increasing evaporation, in contrast to mid-latitude sites, which show little to no change in fractionation with aridity. These data are consistent with enhanced water loss and isotope fractionation at higher latitude in the Arctic summer, when continuous sunlight supports increased daily photosynthesis. The dominant control on δDFA variations on Baffin Island is temperature. However, changing εFA-ppt result in steeper δDFA–temperature relationships than observed for modern precipitation. The application of this δDFA-based paleotemperature calibration to existing δDFA records from Baffin Island produces much more realistic changes in late Holocene temperature and highlights the importance of these effects in influencing the interpretation of Arctic δDFA records. A better understanding of the controls on hydrogen isotope fractionation in high latitude leaf waxes will be essential to the proper interpretation of isotope records from sedimentary plant waxes in the Arctic.

Experience and the unexpected: risk and mitigation issues for operating underground storage silos for coal-fired power plant

Observed autoignition events and extinguishing the resulting smouldering fires in an underground storage system of a coal-fired power plant have provided insight into the array of contributing variables, and some experience on quantifying the risk with alternative scenarios of event initiation, progress and potential mitigation. Although the first attempts to quantify the risk suggest high sensitivity to the sequence of action taken after fire alarm, and no similar storage sites really exist, some recommended preventive, corrective and other mitigating activities can be at least partly defined and improved by using the cumulative experience and parallel efforts in other closed or underground storage sites. However, there are also so-called black (or at least grey) swans: unexpected events for which the facility may be poorly prepared for. In the case of the underground storage silos, such an event was experienced when incoming cold coal during a harsh winter season froze the sewer system that normally protects the stored coal from seepage water. With blocked normal bypass, the seepage water found its way to the coal silos and created large clumps of icy coal that blocked the coal conveyors. Although freezing weather is not unusual at high-latitude power plants, the common methods to combat freezing of coal are mainly useful for open storage sites and above-ground transport. Options for mitigation are discussed, as well as the event chain leading to an event that had never previously occurred. The case is discussed from the point of view of options to prepare for rare or unforeseen events.

Preference and Performance in Plant–Herbivore Interactions across Latitude–A Study in U.S. Atlantic Salt Marshes

High-latitude plants are often more palatable to herbivores than low-latitude conspecifics. Does increased plant palatability lead to better herbivore performance? Our field and laboratory work investigated (A) whether high-latitude plants have traits indicating that they should be higher-quality foods for herbivores; (B) whether geographic differences in plant quality are more important than local adaptation of herbivores. We studied 3 plant species and 6 invertebrate herbivores in U.S. Atlantic Coast. Past studies had shown high-latitude individuals of these plants are more palatable than low-latitude conspecifics. We documented plant traits and herbivore performance (body size) in the field across latitude. We collected individuals from different latitudes for factorial (plant region x herbivore region) laboratory experiments, examining how herbivore performance was affected by plant region, herbivore region, and their interaction (i.e., local adaptation). Field surveys suggested high-latitude plants were likely of higher quality to herbivores. Leaf nitrogen content in all plant species increased toward high latitudes, consistent with lower leaf C/N and higher leaf chlorophyll content at high latitudes. Furthermore, leaf toughness decreased toward higher latitudes in 1 species. The body size of 4 herbivore species increased with latitude, consistent with high-latitude leaves being of higher quality, while 2 grasshopper species showed the opposite pattern, likely due to life-history constraints. In the laboratory, high-latitude plants supported better performance in 4 herbivore species (marginal in the 5th). The geographic region where herbivores were collected affected herbivore performance in all 6 species; however, the pattern was mixed, indicating a lack of local adaptation by herbivores to plants from their own geographic region. Our results suggest that more-palatable plants at high latitudes support better herbivore growth. Given that geographic origin of either plants or herbivores can affect herbivore performance, the nature of plant-herbivore interactions is likely to change if climate change “reshuffles” plant and herbivore populations across latitude.

Paleobotanical Evidence for the Origins of Temperate Hardwoods

Premise of research. Several key morphological and anatomical features are found in temperate deciduous hardwood taxa that undergo seasonal dormancy, including long-shoot/short-shoot differentiation, heterophylly, and diffuse-porous wood. These features, when found together in the fossil record, can serve as indicators suggesting that fossil plants had physiological responses to changing photoperiod and chilling similar to those present today in temperate deciduous forests. We measured heterophyllous leaves on branches of extant Cercidiphyllum trees and used these data as a profile with which to compare fossil leaves of the family Trochodendraceae. Methodology. We recorded frequency distributions of L∶W ratios of leaves from short and long shoots on branches of live Cercidiphyllum japonicum (Cercidiphyllaceae) trees and compared them with fossil leaves of late Paleocene Zizyphoides flabellum of Almont, North Dakota, of Zizyphoides type 1 from the late early Eocene “upland” Okanogan Highlands locality at Republic, Washington, and Trochodendron nastae, also from Republic. We reviewed the literature on seasonal dormancy and on the correlative distribution of leaf phenology and wood porosity type. Pivotal results. Extant Cercidiphyllum and Z. flabellum both showed a bimodal distribution of frequency distribution of L∶W ratios in leaves; Trochodendron did not. Zizyphoides sp. also showed a trend toward bimodality but had less conclusive results. Conclusions. We suggest that on the basis of morphological features, temperate deciduous forest trees demonstrating seasonal heterophylly can be detected in the fossil record. We suggest that triggers such as photoperiod and changing temperature that today influence these plants were pivotal to the evolution of modern temperate deciduous trees. This response may have been first to the trigger of photoperiod change in high-latitude plants and later combined with lower-temperature regimes of upland regions such as the Okanogan Highlands. The development of preformed leaves on plants with diffuse-porous wood allowed for early leaf emergence in the temperate environment.