Plant Migration Research Articles

Sympatric soil biota mitigate a warmer-drier climate for Bouteloua gracilis.

Climate change is altering temperature and precipitation, resulting in widespread plant mortality and shifts in plant distributions. Plants growing in soil types with low water holding capacity may experience intensified effects of reduced water availability as a result of climate change. Furthermore, complex biotic interactions between plants and soil organisms may mitigate or exacerbate the effects of climate change. This 3-year field experiment observed the performance of Bouteloua gracilis ecotypes that were transplanted across an environmental gradient with either sympatric soil from the seed source location or allopatric soil from the location that plants were transplanted into. We also inoculated plants with either sympatric or allopatric soil biotic communities to test: (1) how changes in climate alone influence plant growth, (2) how soil types interact with climate to influence plant growth, and (3) the role of soil biota in mitigating plant migration to novel environments. As expected, plants moved to cooler-wetter sites exhibited enhanced growth; however, plants moved to warmer-drier sites responded variably depending on the provenance of their soil and inoculum. Soil and inoculum provenance had little influence on the performance of plants moved to cooler-wetter sites, but at warmer-drier sites they were important predictors of plant biomass, seed set, and specific leaf area. Specifically, transplants inoculated with their sympatric soil biota and grown in their sympatric soil were as large as or larger than reference plants grown at the seed source locations; however, individuals inoculated with allopatric soil biota were smaller than reference site individuals at warmer, drier sites. These findings demonstrate complicated plant responses to various aspects of environmental novelty where communities of soil organisms may help ameliorate stress. The belowground microbiome of plants should be considered to predict the responses of vegetation more accurately to climate change.

Tree migration in the dynamic, global vegetation model LPJ-GM 1.1: efficient uncertainty assessment and improved dispersal kernels of European trees

Abstract. The prediction of species geographic redistribution under climate change (i.e. range shifts) has been addressed by both experimental and modelling approaches and can be used to inform efficient policy measures on the functioning and services of future ecosystems. Dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) are considered state-of-the art tools to understand and quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of ecosystems at large scales and their response to changing environments. They can explicitly include local vegetation dynamics relevant to migration (establishment, growth, seed (propagule) production), species-specific dispersal abilities and the competitive interactions with other species in the new environment. However, the inclusion of more detailed mechanistic formulations of range shift processes may also widen the overall uncertainty of the model. Thus, a quantification of these uncertainties is needed to evaluate and improve our confidence in the model predictions. In this study, we present an efficient assessment of parameter and model uncertainties combining low-cost analyses in successive steps: local sensitivity analysis, exploration of the performance landscape at extreme parameter values, and inclusion of relevant ecological processes in the model structure. This approach was tested on the newly implemented migration module of the state-of-the-art DGVM LPJ-GM, focusing on European forests. Estimates of post-glacial migration rates obtained from pollen and macrofossil records of dominant European tree taxa were used to test the model performance. The results indicate higher sensitivity of migration rates to parameters associated with the dispersal kernel (dispersal distances and kernel shape) compared to plant traits (germination rate and maximum fecundity) and highlight the importance of representing rare long-distance dispersal events via fat-tailed kernels. Overall, the successful parametrization and model selection of LPJ-GM will allow plant migration to be simulated with a more mechanistic approach at larger spatial and temporal scales, thus improving our efforts to understand past vegetation dynamics and predict future range shifts in a context of global change.

Asymmetric migration dynamics of the tropical Asian and Australasian floras

The tropical Asian and Australasian floras have a close relationship, and is a vital distribution pattern of seed plants worldwide. As estimated, more than 81 families and 225 genera of seed plants distributed between tropical Asia and Australasia. However, the evolutionary dynamics of two floras were still vague. Here, a total of 29 plant lineages, represented the main clades of seed plants and different habits, were selected to investigate the biotic interchange between tropical Asia and Australasia by integrated dated phylogenies, biogeography, and ancestral state reconstructions. Our statistics indicated that 68 migrations have occurred between tropical Asia and Australasia since the middle Eocene except terminal migrations, and the migration events from tropical Asia to Australasia is more than 2 times of the reverse. Only 12 migrations occurred before 15 Ma, whereas the remaining 56 migrations occurred after 15 Ma. Maximal number of potential dispersal events (MDE) analysis also shows obvious asymmetry, with southward migration as the main feature, and indicates the climax of bi-directional migrations occurred after 15 Ma. We speculate that the formation of island chains after the Australian–Sundaland collision and climate changes have driven seed plant migrations since the middle Miocene. Furthermore, biotic dispersal and stable habitat may be crucial for floristic interchange between tropical Asia and Australasia.

Enduring legacy of coal mining on the fungal community in a High Arctic soil after five decades

Mineral extraction is known to affect soil fungi in polar environments, but it is unknown how long these effects persist. Here, by amplifying the internal transcribed spacer regions of rRNA genes in soil fungi, we compared soil fungal community in intact natural tundra with that in a nearby former coal mining area, abandoned 52 years previously, on Svalbard in the High Arctic. Compared with those in intact tundra, soils in the former mining area were more acidic and had lower plant coverage. Despite of similar diversity in the two areas, the fungal community was dominated by Basidiomycota in the intact tundra, but by Ascomycota in the former mining area. Ectomycorrhizal genera formed a major part of the tundra community, but were notably less abundant in the mining area. The principal variation among samples was soil pH. Surprisingly, network connectivity analysis indicated that the fungal community in the former mining area had greater network connectivity than that in the tundra area. Overall, the ecosystem in the former mining area has made only limited recovery towards the natural tundra state even after more than five decades. It is unclear whether the recovery of the fungal community is limited more by the low primary productivity, slow migration of fungi and plants, or slow changes in soil parameters. Our findings emphasize the susceptibility of polar ecosystems to disturbance, given their particularly slow recovery back towards the natural state.

Late Pennsylvanian vegetation changes in the Donets Basin: syndynamic aspect

The purpose of the article. The article is devoted to the study of one from forms of syndynamics in Late Pennsylvanian time, namely phytocoenogenesis. The study of the phytocoenogenesis of ancient plant communities, i.e., the formation of new types of palaeophytocoenoses, is based on the research of vegetation diversity that is reflected in the ecological-floristic classification of the Late Pennsylvanian phytocoenoses of the Donets Basin by the Brown-Blanquet method. Material and research methods. The phytocoenogenetic researches consisted of the analysis of the changes of the species and syntaxonomic composition of vegetation cover throughout the Late Pennsylvanian. The peculiarities and main factors of phytocoenogenesis have been identified on the palaeosyntaxa in rank of the orders of the following vegetation types: wetland forests and woodlands of coastal lowlands, wetland forests and woodlands of deltaic plains, seasonally dry woodlands of river valleys and lagoon coasts. The palaeophytocoenotic data are based on the plant fossil assemblages from lacustrine, lacustrine-swamp, lacustrine-deltaic, floodplain-lacustrine, floodplain and lacustrine-lagoon deposits in more than 17 localities and 11 boreholes located within the Bakhmutska and Kalmius-Toretska troughs. Research results. Based on the analysis of the phytocoenogenetic processes (progressive and regressive development of plant communities) and the manifestations of phytocoenogenesis (formation of new communities and loss of old communities) in the development of the Late Pennsylvanian vegetation, three models of the formation of new communities and one model of the loss of communities from vegetation cover have been proposed. Each of the models reveals the relationship between the phytocoenogenetic processes and environmental changes. The evolution-progression model reflects the progressive development of palaeophytocoenoses that is expressed by the appearance of evolutionary new coenopopulations in the conditions of the expansion of landscape types (expanding biotopes). The migration-progression model conforms to the progressive development of palaeophytocoenoses as a result of the migration of plants from decreasing landscape types to expanding ones (expanding biotopes). The substitution-regression model is consistent with the regressive development of palaeophytocoenoses along with structure simplification and dominant substitution of plant communities due to the contraction of certain landscape types (decreasing biotopes). The elision-regression model of the loss of communities reflects the regressive development of palaeophytocoenoses that is expressed by the decrease in the number of coenopopulations and the number of individuals in remaining coenopopulations in the conditions of the contraction of some landscape types (decreasing biotopes). The scientific novelty. For the first time, the Late Pennsylvanian vegetation dynamics (syndynamic) have been studied. The proposed three models of the formation of new communities and one model of the loss of communities reveal the main directions in evolution of palaeophytocoenoses and give the first ideas about phytocoenogenesis in late Palaeozoic times.

Plant migration under long-lasting hyperaridity - phylogenomics unravels recent biogeographic history in one of the oldest deserts on Earth.

The post-Miocene climatic histories of arid environments have been identified as key drivers of dispersal and diversification. Here, we investigate how climatic history correlates with the historical biogeography of the Atacama Desert genus Cristaria (Malvaceae). We analyze phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography by using next-generation sequencing (NGS), molecular clock dating, Dispersal Extinction Cladogenesis and Bayesian sampling approaches. We employ a novel way to identify biogeographically meaningful regions as well as a rarely utilized program permitting the use of dozens of ancestral areas. Partial incongruence between the established taxonomy and our phylogenetic data argue for a complex historical biogeography with repeated introgression and incomplete lineage sorting. Cristaria originated in the central southern part of the Atacama Desert, from there the genus colonized other areas from the late Miocene onwards. The more recently diverged lineages appear to have colonized different habitats in the Atacama Desert during pluvial phases of the Pliocene and early Pleistocene. We show that NGS combined with near-comprehensive sampling can provide an unprecedented degree of phylogenetic resolution and help to correlate the historical biogeography of plant communities with cycles of arid and pluvial phases.

Botany and the Science of History: Nature, Culture, and the Origins of Civilization, circa 1850–1900

Research has shown that there has often been overlap between the humanities and the sciences. This essay brings to the fore a prominent borderline case in cultural history, where the mix of disciplines that could contribute to its study became an issue of debate. It examines the attempts made by botanists throughout the nineteenth century, culminating around 1900, to call into question the monopoly of the humanities on cultural history. Botanists argued that botanical objects, such as the original forms of ancient grains, were important historical sources, and the renowned Georg Schweinfurth even advocated a new concept of “culture” that prioritized the sciences. The essay argues that this development is part of the period’s discourse on the origins of human civilization, which included more and less productive encounters between the botanical study of the migration and development of plants over time and the study of human history.

Assessment of suitable cultivation region for Panax notoginseng under different climatic conditions using MaxEnt model and high-performance liquid chromatography in China

Climate change and human activities in recent years have led to habitat narrowing or migration of medicinal plants and may result in quality changes. However, Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F. H. Chen (P. notoginseng), a valuable traditional medicine in China, has been included in a few studies to address climate challenges. With the increasing demand for this medicinal herb, the sustainable supply of high-quality P. notoginseng has become particularly important. Therefore, this study integrated the habitat and quality of P. notoginseng to assess its potential distribution in China under climate change conditions. To achieve this, occurrence records and samples of P. notoginseng were collected using online and field surveys. Suitable habitats of P. notoginseng were predicted for different periods using the parameter-optimized MaxEnt model, and the saponin content of the samples was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results suggested that the current highly suitable habitats (105277.78 km2) were predicted to be mainly distributed in the central and eastern parts of Yunnan Province. However, under future climate change scenarios, the suitable habitat was predicted to gradually decrease and move to high-altitude areas in the central-eastern part of Yunnan province. Furthermore, the saponin content in highly suitable habitats was relatively low. Temperature and precipitation play a key role in the distribution of P. notoginseng. Overall, the findings of the present study serve as references for the identification of suitable areas for P. notoginseng cultivation in China.

Autoradiography system with phosphor powder (ZnS:Ag) for imaging radioisotope dynamics in a living plant

Radioisotope tracer imaging is useful for studying plant physiological phenomena. In this study, we developed an autoradiography system with phosphor powder (ZnS:Ag), “Live-autoradiography”, for imaging radioisotope dynamics in a living plant. This system visualizes the element migration and accumulation in intact plants continuously under a light environment. An imaging test was performed on point sources of 137Cs, with radioactivity of 10–100 kBq of being observed; this indicates satisfactory system linearity between the image intensity and the radioactivity of 137Cs. Moreover, dynamics imaging of 137Cs was performed on an intact soybean plant for four days. The serial images indicated 137Cs accumulation in the node, vein, and growing point of the plant. The developed system can be used for studying plant physiological phenomena and can be employed for the quantitative measurement of radionuclides.

MAIN STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE LATE CARBONIFEROUS FLORA AND VEGETATION IN THE DONETS BASIN AS THE BASIS OF JUSTIFICATION OF REGIONAL STRATIGRAPHIC UNITS AT THE PALAEOECOSYSTEM LEVEL

Four stages of development of the late Carboniferous vegetation cover have been established that correspond to the time intervals of four regional subdivisions of the Donets Basin − the Toretsian and Kalynovian Regional Stages, the Luganskian and Vyskrivskian Horizons of the Myronivskian Regional Stage. The analysis of phytostratigraphic and paleophytocenological data showed that the stages of vegetation development are characterized by the dominant plant communities in rank of orders of widespread landscapes. Сhanges from one stage to another are considered as the paleophytocenotic events, which are expressed by the changes of dominant communities of certain landscape types. The levels of paleophytocenotic events coincid with the bases of regional subdivisions The bases of the Toretsian and Kalynovian correspond to the levels of paleophytocenotic events, which were manifested by the formation of new communities types as a result of the evolutionary renewal of composition of wetland calamitean-fern and fern-pteridosperm forests of coastal lowlands as well as lycopsid and calamitean-fern forests of deltaic plains. The base of the Myronivskian (Luganskian Horizon) corresponds to the level of the paleophytocenotic event that was expressed by, firstly, the appearance of new communities types of seasonally dry pteridosperm woodlands of river valleys as a result of the evolutionary renewal of their composition, secondly, the appearance of new communities types of wetland calamitean-fern woodlands of coastal lowlands and calamitean-fern and pteridosperm woodlands of deltaic plains, the formation of which were due to the reduction of species compositions and the changes of dominants. The lower boundary of the Vyskrivskian Horizon corresponds to the level of the paleophytocenotic event that was expressed by the appearance of new communities types of wetland calamitean-fern and fern-pteridosperm woodlands of coastal lowlands and seasonally dry fern-pteridosperm woodlands of lacustrine-lagoon plains, the formation of which were associated with plant migrations and the appearance of new dominants. The considered paleophytocenotic events are manifestations of phytocoenogenetic processes, which led to paleophytocenotic changes, and mark main palaeoecosystem transformations in view of vegetation development stages.

Assessing the spatial pattern of wilderness in central Yunnan: a case study from Chuxiong county, Yunnan

Wilderness plays a key role in mankind’s response to combat climate change and slow down the rapid loss of biodiversity. Wilderness protection is the basis and key to preserving biodiversity, and wilderness identification is the basis for wilderness protection. This paper identified the wilderness areas (WAs) and analyzed the spatial pattern of wilderness level using the data of terrain, vegetation types, land use types, roads, and night lights, and classified the wilderness level into levels 1 to 10, with level 1 indicating the highest level of wilderness and level 10 indicating the lowest. Only patches characterized by wilderness level 1 and a patch area of ≧1.0km2 are identified as wilderness areas in this study. The results showed that (1) the low wilderness (level 8-10), middle wilderness (level 4-7), and high wilderness levels (level 1-3) in the region were in mosaic distribution, which accounted for 52.98%, 14.81%, and 32.21% of the region land area, respectively. Low wilderness areas were mainly distributed in the eastern part of the region, the middle wilderness areas were in the west part of the region, and the high wilderness areas were mainly distributed in the southwest and southeast of the region. (2) The wildness areas accounted for 12.74% of the total land area of the region with presenting scattered distribution. Moreover, wildness area which exceeded 10% of the total wilderness area had 5 towns such as Lucheng, Ziwu, and Xincun, Xishelu, and Dadi, and the range of wilderness covered 7 vegetation types, of which 97.46% of the wilderness areas was in pure forests, with 55.2% of the wilderness distributed in the range of 1800-2200 m. (3) The wilderness areas in the region were almost unprotected. The number and area of wilderness patches that were covered by nature reserves only accounted for 13.24% and 13.19% of patch numbers and areas of the total wilderness. Consequently, this might make it difficult to achieve animal and plant migration and gene exchange between different wildness patches, and it was also difficult to implement effective protection measures.

Awards of JSE Outstanding Papers (2019)

Awards of JSE Outstanding Papers (2019)

DER HUMBOLDT-EFFEKT: VERMITTLUNG UND VERDRÄNGUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN

Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) published hundreds of essays and articles in journals and newspapers on five continents, making a considerable impact and influencing contemporary scientists and writers from Goethe and Darwin to Gabriel García Márquez and Daniel Kehlmann. These diverse writings were not collected and edited until 2019, on the occasion of his 250th birthday. They show Humboldt as a master of minor genres, an international and multilingual author, an early post-disciplinary researcher and a subtle autobiographical writer, a public intellectual and a post-colonial critic. They include studies on indigenous American peoples, the migration of plants and the politics of epidemiology. Paradoxically, the success of Humboldt’s public communication generated a mythology that eclipsed the reception of his research.

Reconstruction of vegetation and low latitude ocean-atmosphere dynamics of the past 130 kyr, based on South American montane pollen types

Strong floristic affinities indicate past ecosystem rearrangements that integrated northeast Brazil with the distant montane range of the Brazilian highlands, sustaining past plant migrations possibly due to climatic patterns. This palynological study of the marine core GL-1248 (0°55.2′S, 43°24.1′W) spans the past ~130-k years to reconstruct the montane rainforest dynamics with the predominant provenance of Parnaíba Hydrographic Basin in northeastern Brazil. In this context, the reduced continental temperatures of the last glacial enabled the migration of ontane rainforest taxa into lowland areas. In these circumstances, the pollen cluster of montane rainforest taxa increased in relative abundance during the early Marine Isotopic Stage 3. The evidence suggests that a secondary pathway evolved, instead of the widely debated coastal route, enabling the biological exchange via the expansion of montane forests throughout the central Brazilian highlands. Two montane pollen types with distinct provenance and ecological features highlighted the ocean-atmosphere dynamics. First, the increase in the relative abundance of Podocarpus correlated with periods of low moisture levels and reduced weathering in the Parnaiba Basin and led to questioning the influence of southeast trade winds as one of the leading carriers of this pollen type. Second, the evidence of Alnus pollen grains, characteristic of Andean vegetation, and low-temperature regions suggest that the Amazon river plume reached the study area. In this sense, the northeast trade winds restrained the North Brazilian Current and guided the southeastward transport of the Amazon river sediments. The presence of Alnus pollen grains emphasizes periods of a weakened North Brazilian Current. Our findings have significant climatic repercussions since heat transport to the northern hemisphere was possibly impaired at the time when Alnus occurred at our core site. • The downslope trend of the montane vegetation cluster during the last glacial period. • The ecological features and dispersal trend of Podocarpus pollen type in northeastern Brazil. • The occurrence of Alnus pollen on the western equatorial Atlantic over the last 130 kyr.

A Meloidogyne graminicola Pectate Lyase Is Involved in Virulence and Activation of Host Defense Responses.

Plant-parasitic nematodes secrete an array of cell-wall-degrading enzymes to overcome the physical barrier formed by the plant cell wall. Here, we describe a novel pectate lyase gene Mg-PEL1 from M. graminicola. Quantitative real-time PCR assay showed that the highest transcriptional expression level of Mg-PEL1 occurred in pre-parasitic second-stage juveniles, and it was still detected during the early parasitic stage. Using in situ hybridization, we showed that Mg-PEL1 was expressed exclusively within the subventral esophageal gland cells of M. graminicola. The yeast signal sequence trap system revealed that it possessed an N-terminal signal peptide with secretion function. Recombinant Mg-PEL1 exhibited hydrolytic activity toward polygalacturonic acid. Rice plants expressing RNA interference vectors targeting Mg-PEL1 showed an increased resistance to M. graminicola. In addition, using an Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system and plant immune response assays, we demonstrated that the cell wall localization of Mg-PEL1 was required for the activation of plant defense responses, including programmed plant cell death, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and expression of defense-related genes. Taken together, our results indicated that Mg-PEL1 could enhance the pathogenicity of M. graminicola and induce plant immune responses during nematode invasion into plants or migration in plants. This provides a new insight into the function of pectate lyases in plants-nematodes interaction.

Root exudates increase soil respiration and alter microbial community structure in alpine permafrost and active layer soils

Due to climate warming, alpine ecosystems are changing rapidly. Ongoing upward migrations of plants and thus an increase of easily decomposable substrates will strongly affect the soil microbiome. To understand how belowground communities will respond to such changes, we set up an incubation experiment with permafrost and active soil layers from northern (NW) and southern (SE) slopes of a mountain ridge on Muot da Barba Peider in the Swiss Alps and incubated them with or without artificial root exudates (AREs) at two temperatures, 4°C or 15°C. The addition of AREs resulted in elevated respiration across all soil types. Bacterial and fungal alpha diversity decreased significantly, coinciding with strong shifts in microbial community structure in ARE-treated soils. These shifts in bacterial community structure were driven by an increased abundance of fast-growing copiotrophic taxa. Fungal communities were predominantly affected by AREs in SE active layer soils and shifted towards fast-growing opportunistic yeast. In contrast, in the colder NW facing active layer and permafrost soils fungal communities were more influenced by temperature changes. These findings demonstrate the sensitivity of soil microbial communities in high alpine ecosystems to climate change and how shifts in these communities may lead to functional changes impacting biogeochemical processes.

Fossil fruits of Firmiana and Tilia from the middle Miocene of South Korea and the efficacy of the Bering land bridge for the migration of mesothermal plants

Determining whether the high-latitude Bering land bridge (BLB) was ecologically suitable for the migration of mesothermal plants is significant for Holarctic phytogeographic inferences. Paleobotanical studies provide a critical source of data on the latitudinal positions of different plant lineages at different times, permitting assessment of the efficacy of the BLB for migration. Here we report exceptionally preserved fossils of Firmiana and Tilia endochrysea from the middle Miocene of South Korea. This represents a new reliable record of Firmiana and the first discovery of the T. endochrysea lineage in the fossil record of Asia. The occurrence of these fossils in South Korea indicates that the two lineages had a distribution that extended much farther north during the middle Miocene, but they were still geographically remote from the BLB. In light of the broader fossil record of Asia, our study shows that, in the middle Miocene, some mesothermal plants apparently inhabited the territory adjacent to the BLB and thus they were possibly capable of utilizing the BLB as a migratory corridor. Some other mesothermal plants, such as Firmiana and the T. endochrysea lineages, however, are restricted to more southern regions relative to the BLB based on current fossil evidence. These lineages may have been ecologically unable to traverse the BLB, which raises questions about the efficacy of the BLB as a universal exchange route for mesothermal plants between Asia and North America during the middle Miocene.

Plant species respond to environmental change remaining within the modified climate by tolerance or adaptation and migrating or a combination of both.

Climate is an important determinant factor that controls the geographic distributions of a plant species more than any other factors. Climate is changed when the average long-term weather patterns of a region are altered for an extended period, typically decades or longer. The cause of climate change can be categorized as natural processes and human activities that increased the level of emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, mainly carbon dioxide. Plant species respond to environmental change remaining within the modified climate by tolerance or adaptation and migrating or a combination of both. The major response of plant species to climate change is: phenology (time), phenotypic plasticity, gene flow, species range shift (migration). Seed dispersal is essential for allowing plant migration to reach specific habitats that are favorable for survival and determining the migration ability of a specific plant species. The degree of movement of a species to favourable climatic conditions depends on its potential migration rate. The potential migration rate of a species is determined by seed dispersal capacity of the species and the population growth rate of plants in newly established populations, the seed size and competition also determine the potential migration rates of a species.

Mountain ecology under climate change

Trophic Ecology Climate warming causes shifts in the distributions of organisms and different organisms may move at different rates, resulting in changes in the composition and functioning of ecological communities. These effects are rarely considered in forecasts about the effects of climate change on biodiversity. Using experimental translocations, Descombes et al. investigated how differential upslope migration in alpine plants and their insect herbivores affects community interactions. Lowland herbivores modify the three-dimensional vegetation structure at higher altitudes, and this modified vegetation structure favors the coexistence of plant species, especially by favoring small-stature species. Reorganized trophic interactions will play an important role in driving plant community changes under future climate change. Science , this issue p. [1469][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.abd7015

Novel trophic interactions under climate change promote alpine plant coexistence.

Herbivory and plant defenses exhibit a coupled decline along elevation gradients. However, the current ecological equilibrium could be disrupted under climate change, with a faster upward range shift of animals than plants. Here, we experimentally simulated this upward herbivore range shift by translocating low-elevation herbivore insects to alpine grasslands. We report that the introduction of novel herbivores and increased herbivory disrupted the vertical functional organization of the plant canopy. By feeding preferentially on alpine plants with functional traits matching their low-elevation host plants, herbivores reduced the biomass of dominant alpine plant species and favored encroachment of herbivore-resistant small-stature plant species, inflating species richness. Supplementing a direct effect of temperature, novel biotic interactions represent a neglected but major driver of ecosystem modifications under climate change.